Naruto: Ninja Of the Pentagram
by DemonicAngelGREED
Summary: Raised as an secret ANBU Officer, Naruto must struggle to find his place as a normal ninja and protecting his friends from his deep secret. On the way he's got to deal with his arising feelings and the risk of becoming a terrible weapon.
1. Prologue: The Awakening Of Kitsune

**Prologue: The awakening of Kitsune **

Dusk settled on the land of fire in the Village hidden in the leaves once again as another day passed. Once again ninja's had been sent on missions, children had gone to school and families loved and cherished each other...all except one little six year old boy. His name...Naruto Uzumaki and he held the great nine tailed Fox Kyuubi within his body, a secret that the children of the village and he himself did not know. That day Naruto had run outside of the village following a butterfly that had caught his attention and before anyone in the village had noticed the young blonde had run into the thick forest surrounding the village.

"Come on butterfly stay still" Naruto laughed jumping to catch the beautiful insect with his bare hands, and was fully enjoying himself even though he had been failing at his self imposed task\game all day.

Suddenly the smell of smoke caught Naruto's attention and that's when the young six year old noticed the darkening sky. But like every night he'd spent out alone Naruto did not feel scared, not once in his memories of being alone in the dark did Naruto ever remember being scared, it always felt like he had someone there with him watching him protecting him. But as he watched the smoke rise into the air he couldn't help but move forward-his curiosity had always been insatiable-and find out why there was a fire in the forest, no one ever camped out in the forest it was too dangerous.

"Hotaru why are we doing this...it's not like the rain village is going to accept us back" a loud annoyed male voice called out making Naruto's interest pike even further. Who were these unknown people and why were they talking about the village hidden in the rain.

"Because Yuzuki, we need power and the only way were going to get it is with a bodyguard like the Kyuubi brat just imagine...the power that kid could possess if he was trained right and proper" Naruto cocked his head to the side, the man was talking about the Kyuubi even though everyone in the leaf village knew that the beast had been killed six years ago-his birthday to be précised.

"Yeah but still it's a lot of trouble to go through for one brat isn't it" The third man said in a bored almost sleepy tone, making the other two shoot him looks of disbelief. "I mean he's just a kid and what would we do with a Kid"

"Kin, we already explained this, if we get him why he's young we could get him before anyone else does, the host identity is an S-class secret and that alone would make him a target so we have to get him and start training before anyone else get's the same idea as us" Hotaru said wearily as he waved his hand in a its-so-obvious motion.

"Sorry if I don't want to put up with an annoying brat or the next few years" Kin grumbled as he lowered his gaze. Naruto smiled and was going to go and greet the three men when the same protecting feeling that had guarded him since he was just a child spiked up making him stop in his tracks. Then slowly his cerulean blue eyes scanned there headbands and saw the slash through their village's symbol. Naruto's eyes widened, he knew what that small slash meant, and the three in front of him were rouge ninja.

"Seems like we had a visitor" Naruto's head snapped up and he was shocked to see that the man known as Yuzuki was standing in front of him. It only took a second but Naruto saw the look in the man's eyes change and before he knew what was happening he was being lifted off the ground and placed in the middle of the three men. "Look boys, we won't have to go into the village after all, the kid came to us"

Naruto whimpered and scurried back as a fear flooded through his senses, something about the men in front of him scared him, they wanted something from him and they'd use force if need be.

Suddenly Naruto blinked and he was standing in front of a large cage in what looked like a sewer with pipes running all along the roof. The water came up to his chin but Naruto felt that he wouldn't, couldn't drown in the water surrounding him.

"**AH SO THE LITTLE KIT HAS COME TO ME, I WASN'T EXPECTING YOU FOR ANOTHER SIX OR SEVEN YEARS" **Naruto's eyes widened as the large booming voice echoed through the room. Never once had the young boy ever heard such a loud voice before and he had been yelled at a lot.

"W-who are you" he called back his fear creeping out into his voice although it was steadily retreating because the calming aura had come back full force as he turned towards the huge gate where a single piece of paper with the word seal stuck the two large doors together.

"**KIT I AM KYUUBI NO KITSUNE, LEADER OF THE BINJU CLAN, AND WE ARE WITHIN YOUR VERY MIND" **the large voice said from the shadowy cell. But this time a red aura appeared in the cage and suddenly a form became visible.

"But the fourth killed you didn't he" Naruto asked a little more confidently, the calming aura had just spiked and now all fears Naruto had felt were totally destroyed and all he felt was a calmness that he never had before.

A large booming sound echoed through the halls making Naruto cover his ears at the thunderous noise. **"NO LITTLE ONE, BUT HE DID SEAL ME WITHIN YOU, HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF TO DO SO AS WELL, HE WAS A GREAT MAN" **Naruto's eyes widened and he ran up until he was pressed against the bars of the cage.

"You actually respect the fourth...you don't hate him?" Naruto asked his six year old mind couldn't grasp how the murderous demon in front of him could actually respect and like the very man who seal him within a tiny child.

"**YES KIT I DO RESCPECT HIM, HOW COULD I NOT, HE HAD THE GUTS TO GO UP AGAINST ME...AND EVEN THOUGH I WAS BEING CONTROLLED I MUST SAY HE DID NOT SHOW ME ANY MERCY ALTHOUGH..." **Naruto heard the sadness in the demon's voice and moved forward a little more.

"What?"

"**HE ASKED ME TO TAKE CARE OF YOU, EASE YOUR FEARS AND YOUR NIGHTMARES AND WHEN THE TIME CAME I WAS TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING" **Kyuubi said looking Naruto in the eyes with his large piercing red ones.

Naruto frowned and thought through everything when suddenly everything struck him

"Wait you're the one who has made me feel all calm everytime I get scared aren't you" he yelled happily making Kyuubi laughed again-although to Naruto it sounded like thunder close up.

"**YES KIT I AM VERY GOOD, NOW YOU AHVE A BIT OF TROUBLE DON'T YOU...THE BAD MEN" **Naruto shivered and nodded **"RIGHT WHEN YOU LEAVE THIS PLACE I WANT YOU TO RELY ON EVERY INSTINCT AND FEELING YOU POSSESS IS THAT UNDERSTOOD" **

"But I don't want to leave you...I'm not alone when I'm in here" Naruto said in a small voice looking down making his face get wet with all the water making the Kyuubi chuckle softly-although to Naruto it still sounded like a soft thunderstorm.

"**DEAR KIT, YOU ARE NEVER ALONE I AM ALWAYS HERE AND NOW YOU AND I ARE CONNECTED YOU MAY SPEAK TO ME AS YOU SEE FIT, BUT ONLY IF YOU MANAGE TO GET AWAY, NOW GO" **Naruto nodded and then began to feel light headed and then he blacked out and when he came too he noticed that the three men had a needle filled with a blue liquid poised to inject him in the neck.

_Kick his right knee _Naruto remembered Kyuubi's orders and forced up all of his power and lashed out with all his strength which was surprisingly very strong and slammed his foot down onto Yuzuki's knee which the made a loud cracking sound.

"Arrgh what the FUCK! He cracked my knee" he shouted dropping the needle as he clutched his knee in pain, Kin stared at Naruto for a second and then pulled out a kunai and brandished it in front of him and glared at Naruto menacingly only to be shocked by the fierce hatred and fury in the young Childs eyes.

_Grab the Kunai _with a speed he didn't know he had Naruto darted forward and grabbed the kunai and then without any instruction he brought the weapon down on the man's foot and then twisted it before ripping it out. Kin screamed in pain and all Naruto did was stand back and breath heavily. Hotaru sighed and took out his katana and pointed it at Naruto simply.

"And I had such hopes" he said sadly as he stared at the furious child.

_Slice the man's neck _without question Naruto turned to Kin and sliced the Kunai along the man's unprotected jugular and then frowned when it got stuck and red liquid covered his hands as he tried to get it loose, after a moment-long enough to get covered in blood-Naruto gave up and left the kunai lodged in the man's throat.

"Kin! You...You DEMON!" Yuzuki screamed as he got to his feet the pain in his knee now forgotten at the sight of his friend being taken down by the six year old.

_Grab his throat _Naruto jumped up and did as his instinct said and then waited digging in his unusual sharp nails in only just drawing blood, _okay rip it out _Naruto took in a deep breath and closed his eyes and pulled back. A large scream filled the forest and Naruto was surprised when he felt the same warm red liquid spray onto his face that now covered his shirt and hands and when he opened his eyes he was shocked to see a large chuck of what looked like meat clumped in his hand and the man formally known as Yuzuki was lying on the floor with a huge gaping hole in his throat which was making blood stream onto the grass.

Hotaru shook with fear as he saw Yuzuki fall down his throat ripped out and then he spotted the heavily breathing Naruto and saw red. "I'm going to kill you" he screamed and then rushed forward intent on killing the demon.

_Grab his katana and give it back to him _Naruto grabbed the top of the blade totally oblivious to the pain shooting in his hands and then forced the blade out of Hotaru's hands and then turned it around and put it straight through his stomach and out the back of his spine. Hotaru's mouth fell open and the blood dribbled out and the last thing he saw was Naruto's terrified look and that's when it hit him: he had no idea what he was really doing he was just acting.

Naruto looked around and then sat down bringing his knees to his chest before wrapping his arms around them, it had suddenly hit him: he had killed the three men and was now sitting down covered in their blood surrounded by their corpses. For the first time since he was four Naruto cried.

"**I KNOW KIT, JUST LET IT OUT, HELP WILL COME SOON: I PROMISE EVERYTHING WILL GET BETTER" **Naruto sobbed silently and let himself get bathed in Kyuubi's calming aura.

Ookami and his ANBU squad raced through the forest looking for the young boy by the name of Naruto Uzumaki, the Hokage-who had a small bond with the boy-had sent his best team out to search for the blonde who had been missing since earlier that morning and now it was almost midnight. "Ookami, what if we don't find the boy" Eagle said worried, she knew about the boy but no matter how many times she was told to hate the boy because of what it harboured she never could...in her eyes Naruto Uzumaki was just a boy.

The nineteen year old ANBU Captain shook his head "We aren't going back until we find the boy...he's precious to the village" Ookami or Kakashi Hatake was the only one who knew of the young child's true lineage and was protective of the boy in fact many of the villager didn't dare to do anything to Naruto if they had any inkling that he was watching over the boy.

The Hokage had chosen this team for one simple reason-they were all ANBU, and all ANBU cherished Naruto as a hero and loved to watch over him because he brought a joy into their job that they normally didn't get.

"Ookami...you need to see this" the voice of Tiger buzzed in his ear and Ookami got the coordinates from his Teammate and in a few moments he and Eagle were standing on a tree branch overlooking a ghastly scene.

It was Naruto. But he was shaking, covered in blood, and was sitting surrounded by three corpses. The whole ANBU squad was horrified to see their little ray of sunshine so scared and with a gulp eagle turned to Ookami. "Ookami, you should go, he knows you the most" The Captain nodded and then jumped down and purposely stepped on a twig making it snap making Naruto's head to snap up to look at him.

"ANBU Wolf" Naruto said a hint of affection creeping into his voice at the sight of his favourite ANBU. But he couldn't muster much more than a happy whisper as he continued to shiver as he looked at the blood once again.

"Naruto come here" The masked man whispered making Naruto shake his head "I'm not going to hurt you I promise" he whispered stopping arms length away from the frightened child.

"**CHILD GO TO HIM, HE WON'T HURT YOU, FROM WHAT I CAN SENSE HE...WANTS TO COMFORT YOU" **Kyuubi said nudging him mentally and as if someone had flicked a switch Naruto launched himself into Ookami's arms and cried into his shoulder.

The ANBU unit dropped to the ground and all looked at the young child crying in their leaders arms. Not once had the team in two years even seen the boy shed a tear and the fact that he was all out bawling now made it unbelievable and heartbreaking for the small unit.

Ookami stood and clutched Naruto tight to his chest and looked at his team which were all staring at the shivering Naruto clutched to his chest.

"We need to go see the Hokage" the captain said in a stern voice before racing through the village with an urgency he'd never felt before not even when he was searching for Minato during the nine tails attack. The unit rushed after their leader but when they reached the Hokage's office they noticed that Ookami was now seated on the lounge with Naruto lying down his head nestled in the young man's lap.

"Ah good your unit is here Ookami, come in" the Hokage said waving the four other ninja in his council members in. "Your Captain had reported what happened so there is no need for you all to worry about the young boy"

The unit all seemed to relax and the council elders then coughed making everyone except Naruto look up "Yes we are all...glad that Naruto is fine but the fact is that the child killed three A-ranked missing Nin from the rain country without any ninja training what so ever, we can't let that go unwatched" Ookami looked at the elders in confusion and then down at the boy.

"What are you purposing?" he asked secretly he was scared for the boy, he has been at the meeting where the clan elders decided Naruto's fate and it was only because, the Inuzukas, the Naras, the Aburames, the Yamakas and the Amikich clans decided that they wanted the boy raised like a normal kid that Naruto hadn't been turned into a weapon like the Hyuga and Uchiha clans wanted-as well as the elders.

"We have decided that Naruto is to become an unofficial part of ANBU" Ookami just stared at the two elders and then looked frantically at the Hokage who seemed to be deliberating something.

"Lord Hokage, you can't do it, to send Naruto to ANBU would be like sending him to the slaughter house, look at him what would the main clans think" Boar-a member of the Nara clan-shouted forgetting who he was speaking too as he fought for Naruto's innocence.

Sarutobi held up a hand and glared at the two elders "I will agree to this" the ANBU unit all gasped and the elders looked smug "But Naruto get's entrance to the academy at the age of nine so that he has a chance to be a regular shinobi, and if he passes the genin exam he is never to wear his mask again until he passes the ANBU exam understood" Ookami sighed and nodded he could live with the rules, at least they gave Naruto a fighting chance at a normal life.

"Fine, but there are conditions then: he is to only Tai-jut-su and the mastery of all the ANBU weapons, no Nin-jut-su or Gen-Jut-su allowed, and if he fails the genin exam he is to be train into the perfect weapon and is to never leave ANBU until he is too old to be of use or he dies" The male elder snarled making all of the occupants in the room freeze.

The ANBU unit all looked at the boy and gulped, they had to take the deal but the consequences were so large, he would either have a free life as a shinobi or he would be a trapped dog in ANBU with no life outside the killings of others. "Very well" Ookami whispered as he picked up the limp boy "We will get him settled in at the base, till tomorrow Hokage, elders" he said before disappearing in a puff of smoke followed closely by his unit.

"**KIT, LITTLE ONE, WAKE UP, KIT" **Naruto's eyes fluttered open as Kyuubi nudged him affectionately, but the sight before him was not a comforting one or a usual one. Not once in his short life had the six year old ever laid eyes on the room before him.

The room had low lighting and had a locker instead of a wardrobe; along the back of the room was the bed he was currently sleeping on. One the west wall was a rack of half swords, Katana's and other blades and on the south wall was the door which was open so Naruto could see it lead to a bathroom.

"You awake, good" Naruto turned around and saw Ookami standing at doorway with a large bundle in his hands "Do you like the room" Naruto nodded once-truthfully he thought it to be a bit dull but he wasn't going to tell his favourite ANBU that. "Good"

"ANBU wolf, why am I here" Naruto asked innocently as the ANBU captain walked into his room and sat on his bed.

"You need to call me Ookami for now on" the captain said in a soft voice but deep down he was breaking as he saw Naruto's confused look. Then he slowly placed the tiny ANBU uniform into Naruto's arms. "Do you remember what you did last night" Naruto nodded and looked down at the uniform in his hands "Well the Hokage and the council have decided that they want you to continue to do that to bad men with me and my team but for you to do that you had to join ANBU –unofficially of course" Naruto stared at the mask on the top of the pile and smiled softly when he noticed it was a fox mask. "From now on your name...is Kitsune" Naruto gulped and nodded and then slid the mask on in place, it was a perfect fit.

"Very well...Ookami, what's my first mis...assignment?"

**Okay before you all flame this story it's not another one of the Naruto is raised in ANBU and is a cold heartless killer story-he does have a personality and he doesn't become a weapon. Kyuubi is not a evil demon in this story he is more like an older brother figure to Naruto and keeps him under control, although he is still going to be a prankster and is still going to suck at academy-I'll explain why later. **

**REVIEW PLEASE. **


	2. Blood Bath's and Shadow Clones

**Chapter 1: Blood baths and shadow clones **

Red. It was everywhere, Naruto scrubbed at his hair hard, he had school in mere moments and he was still covered in his last target's blood. Ever since an incident a year ago with the Inuzuka heir in his class Naruto had been extra careful to wash up as best as he could so he didn't smell of blood. In three days the genin exam would be held, and it was Naruto's last chance for freedom and out of the life that plague him, not that he hated ANBU it was rather...he hated the killings, the ANBU officers themselves he liked, but the only problem was that the team he had been first put on Ookami's team had all been disbanded and replaced by new members, the last to leave was Ookami two years ago. But all in ANBU knew that 'Kitsune' was the nicest and brightest ANBU assassin to grace the base's hall, and they all loved him for being so kind.

"um Kitsune aren't you leaving yet" Naruto looked up from the basin he'd been washing his hair in and groaned, if Snake had been the one to tell him he was running late for his morning activities then he knew he was late. "I know you hate to be disturbed after a assignment but...Well your usually gone by now"

Naruto sighed and turned the faucet off and shook out his spiky hair before going to his locker and taking out his civilian clothes which consisted of a black short sleeved muscle shirt, black cargo pants held up by a bright orange belt, black shinobi sandals, and a bright orange long sleeved jacket that he kept unzipped.

"**KIT YOU HAVEN'T SLEPT IN TWO DAYS YOU'RE GOING TO COLLAPSE" **Kyuubi said in what Naruto had dubbed his 'Big brother' voice. With a sigh Naruto raced towards the academy and held back a yelp when he stumbled and almost fell off the roof top he was travelling on.

"I think the council is trying to kill me" he groaned to no one in particular as he rubbed the grit out of his eyes, the lack of sleep was getting to him, even when he had been six he had never been asked to stay awake night and day while doing assassinations at night and academy work during the day.

"**KIT MAYBE YOU SHOULD SIT NEXT TO THE SLACKER TODAY" **Kyuubi said in a worried voice as he looked at how tired his small twelve year old body was handling all the work and the pressure that was being put on him.

"Who...Shikamaru? Why not I am kinda tired" Naruto said as he landed in front of the academy just as the bell rang. Naruto took a deep breath and then used all his stealth skills that he had acquired via ANBU training and being the resident prankster, and snuck into his classroom and in front of Shikamaru who was just barely awake. "Hey Shikamaru"

The lazy boy lifted his head up slowly and gave Naruto an annoyed look "What" he asked as grumpily as he could with the lazy drawl that ran in all members of his family.

"I was wondering if I could sit next to you" Shikamaru look at the blonde boy in pure shock, the only times Naruto ever sat next to him was when he wanted a nap, and even then he never asked he just sat down and went to sleep but the fact that Naruto was asking meant that either he was really tired or he just wanted company.

"Fine, but don't annoy me" the pineapple hair styled boy said and then turned away from Naruto as he sat down and laid his own head on the desk. Shikamaru sighed and waited for Naruto to ask him something like he always did before his nap but was shocked when after five minutes nothing was said and when he looked back he saw Naruto out cold.

Iruka walked into class and sighed happily, but when he scanned the uppermost rows of desks he sighed when he saw that Naruto wasn't anywhere to be found. He was quiet fond of the strange blonde who was loud, but shy as well as joyful but serious, he reminded him of himself when he was that age. "Sit down and shut up!" he yelled making the whole class quiet down and sit nicely at their desks. "Now please answer when I call you name..." after a moment or so Iruka got to Naruto's name and sighed "and Naruto Uzumaki isn't here"

"Ah sensei, yes he is" Iruka looked up at Shikamaru in shock and then indeed saw Naruto who looked unconscious with his head on the desk his shoulders rising and falling "But he's not just napping...I think he's sleeping deeply" Iruka stared at Naruto and then shook his head

"Shikamaru wake him up" Iruka said in a calm voice, he didn't know why but Naruto either came to class tired, over energetic or just downright annoying, but this time it seemed different even when he slept in class Naruto never seemed to sleep deeply as he was now.

"Ah Iruka sensei...I can't he really is sleeping" Shikamaru said as he continued to shake the sleeping boy hard, but with no avail Naruto just continued to sleep...well not peacefully but he just continued to sleep "Geez how long has it been since you actually closed your eyes and slept?" the Nara heir said in a bored tone. Unaware of the yelling and screaming going on around him Naruto just continued to dream not so peacefully.

_An eleven year old Naruto dressed in his Kitsune uniform stood before the Hokage and the two elders of the council. For five years now he had been serving as the leaf village's number one assassin: Kitsune. His job-to spill the blood so other ANBU didn't have to._

"_Ah Kitsune we heard about your job last night, good job" the female elder said to the alert killer who stood straight. Lately he had been going on less and less unit missions and more and more solo missions-although if the council knew about how he and Kyuubi spoke to each other all the time-then who knows what would have happened, so instead of answering Naruto went with the ever helpful nod. _

"_Now Kitsune we have something to discuss with you before you leave on your next mission" the male elder said entwining his fingers on his stomach and leaning back giving the ANBU a proud look._

"_As you know you started at the academy two years ago to the day...now there is something you haven't been told about your time at the school...and your future" the Hokage said sadly as he looked at the young boy that used to be known as Naruto Uzumaki. "As you have noticed, we receive you report cards monthly-there is a reason behind this, it was decided five years ago that at the age of twelve if you can't become a genin then you will be locked in ANBU for the rest of your days, and will be trained by only the highest ANBU officer, but if you do become genin then your ninja life is totally your own, you can choose how far in the system you can go, do you understand-you fate will be sealed at the end of the genin exam one year from now" Kitsune nodded once again and he was then given his assignment and then dismissed._

"_**KIT WE ARE TOTALLY SCREWED" **__Kyuubi said in a tired voice as he went over the deal in his head once again and all Naruto could do is nod in return. _

Iruka sighed and walked up to Naruto and hit on the head...hard. The slowly like waking up a bear Naruto's eyes flickered open and he yawn silently and turned his exhausted eyes to his sensei, too tired to even be afraid of the anger the older man was emitting-not that killer instinct really scared him, if a person was surrounded by it daily they learn to get used to it

"Naruto are you awake now" Iruka asked in a fake sweet tone, Naruto was about to answer when he merely collapsed back into the dream world where Kyuubi stared down affectionately at the young boy who lied in front of his large cage.

'**Sleep now Kit, for tonight you will have no rest' **

Iruka's eyes widened as he watched Naruto give him a look with blurry eyes before his head slammed back on the desk, "Kiba go tell the front desk Naruto has fainted"

The dog boy nodded and raced off, and mere moments later an ANBU with a rat mask was picking Naruto up "I will take care of him"

Iruka and the whole class all nodded still shocked that Naruto was being escorted by an ANBU not even Sasuke-who was the last surviving Uchiha got an ANBU escort when he fainted, which made the said Uchiha furious.

"Wow, the idiot got an ANBU escort who'd have guessed" Kiba said playfully, he didn't hate the kid, he rather liked him Naruto was his regular skipping buddy, the only problem was that sometimes when the wind blew pass Naruto Kiba got the strong scent of blood, and not the own kids, it was the foul stench of someone else's.

"No I think it's something more than that" Shikamaru whispered so only the dog boy could hear and then pointed to Iruka who had a worried look on his face and he stared at the spot the ANBU officer had disappeared with Naruto in tow. Kiba frowned and then shrugged before patting Akamaru for comfort.

When Naruto woke he saw he was in his ANBU base room and his ANBU uniform was laid out on the end of his bed newly clean with a scroll perched on top. When he look around he saw Rat sitting down reading a book next to his bed.

"Rat what are you doing here" he asked in a sleep laced voice as he slid his mask onto place. He felt uncomfortable around other ANBU ninja if he didn't have his own unique mask in place.

"I was to watch over you; apparently you fainted at the academy today, Kid that was very dangerous, what if it was someone else on duty...they could have found out who you really are" Rat said sighing, Rat was the eldest ANBU officer, at the age of thirty three Rat had watched over Naruto ever since he had come to ANBU and had taught the young child everything he could about tai-jut-su and in return he had learnt the legendary 'Kitsune's true identity was that of the seven year old Kyuubi jailor Naruto Uzumaki.

"I know, I know, but I didn't sleep yesterday, and I got in this morning, where am I suppose to sleep with my duties" Naruto sighed as he changed in his ANBU uniform, and then placed his civilian clothes in his locker. Rat watched as the young boy rested his masked forehead on the locker door and couldn't stop the wave of sorrow that washed over him. When the young blonde boy had come to ANBU he had stuck by Ookami and his squad, but like all good squads, they all disbanded and left the unit, and 'Kitsune' became an ANBU for hire, and many teams wanted him.

"Kitsune, I can't tell you what to do, but I must ask, what will you do if you fail" Rat asked passing the young boy his half blade with he promptly strapped on his back so that it was easily accessible.

Naruto looked out the tiny window on the wall next to his bed and sighed "If I fail to become a genin then I shall come back to this base where I will never leave" he said in a monotone voice. If Naruto had bothered to look at the fellow ANBU officer he would have seen a ridged strained form.

Rat stared at Kitsune in fury, he didn't know how the council could even think of damning a person to ANBU for the rest of their life, he had spent a good eleven years in the force and it had changed him some but Kitsune had been in for six and he was beginning to lose some of his hyper activeness, it wasn't much but Rat could see it, so to be told that the genin exam was make it or break it...it was absurd.

"Kitsune...do your best" Rat said before leaving the room and began stomping into the rec room, but when he passed an old room he stopped and walked in smiling slightly under his mask. He was now standing in the very room he first met Kitsune in: Ookami's room. He remembered that day fondly.

_Hawk walked next to him, telling him about the new recruit making him just sigh, he didn't want to have to deal with another annoying recruit who wasn't broken in yet. "And then there is the fact that he is only six years old" Rat stopped and his hands snapped the clip board he was holding "Rat?"_

"_Take. Me. To. Him. Now" he said anger laced in every word. Hawk who had gotten used to the senior ANBU's anger just waved it off and then began to start towards the living quarters of the ANBU base. _

_When the female ANBU stopped Rat noticed that they were standing in front of Ookami's living quarters and loud crashing and banging sounds were being echoed out of the room. "Kitsune again" Sounds of panting and then the same crashing and banging echoed through the halls again. _

_Rat pushed open Ookami's door and saw a young boy in a fox mask in Boar's usual Tai Jut-su stance surrounded by Ookami's usual team. Rat took in the young boy's height and was shock at what he saw; the child couldn't be any older than seven at most. Ookami sighed and walked over to him._

"_Rat, this is Kitsune" the young ANBU captain said as he gave the elder ANBU a scroll signed with the Hokage's stamp. "He will be under our care for the new few years, his training instructions are in the scroll" from the tone Ookami was talking in he didn't like the rules that the young ANBU was confined to. _

_Rat gave the boy a once over and nodded "Very well let's see what he can do" _

Naruto walked into the Hokage council room making many of the Jonin and Chunin gulp as they saw him. Every knowledgeable ninja knew about his alter ego, he had the highest kill rate in all of ANBU, which made him scary to others. Naruto sighed and stood at attention in front of the two people who had made his last six years hell and the one person who had given him some hope.

"Ah Kitsune on time...like always" The male council member said in sick glee, they had just been reading over the young boy's school report for the last month and he and his fellow council member were very happy by what they saw. The boy was doing poorly: between being too tired to do well in the logic and tactics part of class and then been too worn out to pay attention in the Nin Jut-su the boy was passing on his Tai Jut-Su grades alone, and why they were great after years of perfecting them he won't pass without the logics part, which meant that after one week the young child would be sent to the hardest task masters and taught every type of assassination Jut-su he could master so that he could become a weapon.

"Yes milord" Naruto said in a toneless voice, he learnt very early on that if he took any type of malice or tone with the council he would be submitted to such terrifying missions that it took weeks of sleepless nights to get over what he had to do, once the council had made him kill innocent children just because they were tied to a missing nin and they thought they were exchanging information.

"Kitsune your assignment for the night is for you to take out the missing Nin: Daiki Yamagata, he is a little too close to our village for our liking, he originated from the Village Hidden in the Grass so be careful of..."

"Poison attacks" The Hokage looked at Naruto with warm eyes, he should know by now that Naruto would know what to expect from each of the different countries ninja and from most ninja in the bingo book, he had after all studied the newest edition cover to cover.

"Yes, but also remember Daiki is also known as the swamp ninja for a reason, it is said he can control all type of plants and bend them to his will" The Hokage continued looking Naruto in the eyes-or the two holes in the ANBU mask-to get across how serious the situation was. The fact that all the ninja he sent Naruto after could kill him in seconds always made the elder man nervous, but everytime Naruto came back and gave his report he was safe with hardly a scratch on him, but was covered in his opponent's blood.

"Understood" Kitsune said nodding and the Hokage couldn't help but smile at the teasing tone that flowed out of the twelve year olds voice, it was a good thing the young boy's spirit hadn't been broken yet, he was simply just to fun and when he was in a playful mood...the Jonin of the village had to pay for it.

As Naruto raced slowly towards the gates he passed a group of academy student who just so happen to be Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino. Not sparring the another glance he continued towards the village gate, he hoped to kill the ninja as fast as possible so he could get a few hours of sleep before he had to go to the academy in the morning. Kiba watched the figure moved at speeds unseen by the noticed he wasn't even trying and his jaw fell open making him noticed by the others who were also in states of shock. Shikamaru hadn't stop staring at the spot where he had raced by, Shino's eye brows were a little higher than normal and Choji's chip packet had fallen to the floor forgotten in his shock and obvious awe.

"Well that was different" Shikamaru said as he recovered from his shock but the saw Akamaru and Kiba's wide eyes and gave the Inuzuka a irritated look, what the hell were they starring at, "What's wrong now" he asked in annoyance and then tried to see what Kiba was.

"That...ninja, he wasn't even trying he was just jogging when I listened to his heart beat all I heard was a steady beat, it wasn't hammering like when a person begins to run and it wasn't like a roar like someone overexerting themselves, it was like when a person walks, steady and perfect" The group of students looked at Kiba and then looked back at the direction that the ANBU had raced off in and shuddered.

"I'd hate to have him as an enemy, it'd be a huge drag" Shikamaru said before starting off towards his favourite hill intending to watch some clouds before heading home. Choji scurried after his friend while the two animal users just stood there watching the same spot for a few moments before parting.

Naruto walked down the street the only light to guide his way was the one form the full moon his hands covered in dry blood, his mask speckled with it and his arm guards smeared with it. Sometimes he thought that maybe the council had made him only learn Tai-Jut-Su and weapon mastery because they wanted him to get covered in blood nightly. Because Naruto was so deep in his musing he didn't spot the white puppy and his owner racing up the street until they were mere meters in front of him. "Oh. My. God" Naruto looked up and saw the pale face of Kiba Inuzuka looking back at him and that's when he realised what he probably looked liked covered in blood.

"Your that ANBU guy who passed us today" The dog boy whispered as he clutched his puppy to his chest, but unlike his master Akamaru was struggling to get towards him and when he broke free from his master's grip he bounded into the masked ninja's hands effectively getting two bloody hand prints on his white fur.

"**WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW, DOGS REALLY DO LIKE US, IT SEEMS INU'S PARTNER WASN'T A FLUKE" **Kyuubi's voice said as he spoke about the Inuzuka that had been on the same team as Naruto for three whole months before he and his owner dropped out of the unit to live in the Inuzuka compound again.

"Akamaru?" Kiba asked in confusion, the ANBU then walked straight up to him and Kiba notice he was a few centimetres taller than the elite ninja who the deposited the dog in his arms before patting the white pup on the head twice. As the blood covered ninja walked off Kiba watched him with awe in his eyes "He is so cool" he whispered and Akamaru yipped in agreement.

Naruto continued walking down the village until he reached the Hokage tower where he jumped up and grabbed the balcony ledge and then vaulted himself into the room. One of the best things about getting back into the village late was that the two council members would be in bed and Naruto would be able to give his report without the two of them breathing down his neck and giving him proud almost happy stares at what he had become. When Naruto silently entered the room he felt his left eyebrow twitch as he saw the old man giggling as he read "Make out Paradise"

"Old Man...You're a Pervert" The Hokage yelled out in shock and threw his book in the air as he saw Naruto standing on the balcony with his arms crossed his mask pushed up to the side of his face so he could see the amused smile and fire that danced in his eyes. The Hokage coughed a little before pushing his little orange book away before giving Naruto a warm look.

"You may take your mask off now" Naruto sighed happily and took the mask off so and then turned it so it was face up and he was starring in a blood speckled fox mask. The mask meant a lot to him, it not only reminded him of his 'Big Brother' but of his Idol and Hero-The Fourth Hokage. "Naruto you are aware the exam is in one week" Naruto nodded and he kept his eyes down "I don't want to pressure you, so I'm going to keep this quick, is the target gone" Naruto nodded once "Is a cleanup crew needed" Naruto's eyes became haunted and he nodded once again The Hokage sighed and then clasped his hands in front of him "That is all you may go" Naruto nodded once more and then raced towards the ANBU base where rat was waiting for him. Naruto collapsed at the senior ANBU's feet and then allowed his friend to pick him up and carry him to the shower where he was placed in the spray fully clothed.

"How can the council do this to do" Rat asked as slowly took of the ANBU issued armour to leave Naruto in only a black muscle tank and a pair of boxers. Naruto gave Rat a pleading look that the elder man knew so well. So with a sigh he left the now partly clothed boy in the running water and had to hold back a sob as he saw the young boy bury his face in his knees and begin to sob as the water running off him turned a deep shade of red. Rat closed his eyes as the painful sobs wracked his body; never in all his years as an ANBU officer had he ever heard such a heartbreaking sound. To hear such a sound coming from such a young innocent boy almost broke his heart. After a moment the sounds subsided and Naruto walked out dripping wet and covered in the red tinted blood.

"I'm okay now, I just need some sleep" Rat nodded and watched as the twelve year old walked off and disappeared around the corner, it was times like this that he always wanted to know why he chose to stay in ANBU and continue to serve the old controlling council who deemed it necessary to try and break a young child because of the creature he was keeping away from the village.

"**KIT, YOU SHOULD REST IN THREE HOURS YOU HAVE TO WAKE FOR ANOTHER DAY AT THE ACADEMY" **Kyuubi said in a sad voice as she watched Naruto stare at his semi stained hands, the fox knew that the child had a problem with the blood that he was covered in daily. **"REMEMBER SOON WE'LL BE OUT" **

Naruto nodded dumbly and then stared at his hands once again before turning his face into the pale moonlight hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before he had to drag himself to school the next morning.

A week passed and nothing surprising happened, Naruto would go to school after having a maximum of four hours of sleep and would go through the day in a haze effectively only demonstrating his Tai Jut-su skills perfectly while falling asleep in all other classes. There was only one person he avoided-Kiba Inuzuka-after the dog boy had seen him covered in blood that night he had made sure to stay away from him while his scent carried his victims. The after getting yelled at by Iruka Sensei, he would then run back to the base where he would the change before racing towards the council elders where he would be given a mission, he'd go on the said mission and kill a missing nin, then in the early hours of the morning he'd stumble back into the village and then sit in the hot spray of the water to try and wash the blood and the stench off his body. Now the day of the genin exam had arrived and Naruto was...late. Iruka looked around the classroom for his favourite blonde and sighed when he noticed that the loveable goof ball wasn't there.

"Everyone it seems that Naruto Uzu..." a large poof of smoke blew through the classroom startling the classroom into silence. When the smoke cleared Iruka couldn't help but beam, standing in the middle of the classroom was his favourite blonde. Naruto who look half asleep was grinning at Iruka while Rat had a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "Never mind" the academy teacher said happily.

Rat bent down and whispered in Naruto's ear and then nodding once Naruto took the only available seat...right next to Kiba. The Inuzuka spared a look to the blonde next to him and was shocked to see the young boy's appearance. It looked as if his clothes were put on in the dark, he had dark circles under his eyes and his skin was pale, but the thing that made Kiba the most shocked was the foul odour of blood wafting off the boy. Normally Kiba would get an inkling of another person's blood scent on Naruto but for the most part the kid smelt like a forest or a swamp-not revolting but natural. But at this moment Naruto smelt like he had just bathed in another person's innards, but unlike his master Akamaru wasn't scared but...sympathetic, this was proven when the tiny puppy leapt from his perch on his hooded head and landed next to Naruto's hand and nudged it with his nose before whining a little. Naruto gave the little puppy a fond smile before scratching behind his ear for a little bit and then his eyes went back to the board where Iruka was telling them about the test. It turned out the first test wasn't Naruto's strong point...a written exam. But when the young blonde read over the questions he saw that all the questions or problems were ones he had faced before. So slowly and carefully with Kyuubi's help Naruto answered each one from how he fixed the solution from his past battles.

When Iruka picked up his answer sheet and read over the first few answers he gave Naruto a confused glance before moving on. Once all the papers were collected Naruto and the rest of the class found themselves out in the shuriken practise field.

"Okay students, the second exam is the Kunai throwing test, each student will be given ten kunai and for each kunai inside the target you will get a point, do you understand" Iruka said with Mizuki standing next to him smiling in a comfortingly way which made a lot of the student a lot more confident than they should have been. Half an hour later it was Naruto's turn, "Okay lastly Naruto Uzumaki" Iruka said warmly, it wasn't a hidden fact that the only two things Naruto was good at was weapons and Tai Jut-su it had been said by his previous weapon teacher two years earlier that he had more talent in this one area than the top three kunai throwers in the whole grade. Naruto walked up to the fresh target and closed his eyes so that he could imagine that it was one of his targets. Then with a grace much like a fox hunting Naruto's took a deep breath and let all ten kunai loose. Ten loud THUNKS echoed out of the field and the when Iruka looked at the target his mouth dropped open much like the rest of the class, it was a perfect kill, two in the heart target, four in the stomach target and four in the crotch target: all dead centre, all bullseyes, but when Iruka turned to congratulate the young blonde he saw a sad smile on his face, Iruka cleared his throat getting the attention of the whole class including the sad blonde "Perfect score Naruto good job" Naruto nodded and they all went to the Tai Jut-su fields the whole way the whole class was talking about how Naruto beat even Sasuke's score at the kunai throwing-said boy was silently summing at the back of the class. Iruka stopped at the edge of the Tai Jut-su arena and turned to face the class "Okay this test is fairly simple, you will each get to fight either myself of Mizuki Sensei, you will all have a five minute battle, in that battle you must try to hit us as many times as possible, every time you do you get a hit although depending on the type of attack, the points may change, which means if it was a difficult move to pull off the you will get extra points the same rule applies to the power behind the attack" Iruka said in his 'lecturing voice'

Naruto sighed and sat down at the base of one of the tree trunks and started to watch the matches, he knew that doing so well on the kunai test had probably been a bad idea, but after years of going on missions where accuracy was everything, that it meant life or death, he couldn't miss a target otherwise he would have a break down. One by one the battles were ended, many of the scores were low, under five at most, that was until Kiba Inuzuka gain a seven by showing off his strengths, of course that was beaten by Sasuke who managed to scrape in a eight, so by the time it was Naruto's turn everyone was waiting to see what the class enigma could do. Naruto stood opposite Mizuki sensei that had a smile of his face and then got in relaxed position and waited for the signal. When Iruka gave the signal Mizuki rushed forward and tried to punch Naruto in the face only to have the younger ninja grab his wrist and then smile before his foot came straight up and slammed into his chin, the strength of the attack sent the chunnin flying to edge of the arena why Naruto just brought his foot back to the ground unaware of the two ninja watching from the upper window. The class looked to Iruka who smiled "The strength of the kick alone was a two and add in the difficulty and flexibility needed to perform such a move means that Naruto's score is at four and only a minute has passed" The class looked at Naruto in awe never before had they seen the blonde fight in Tai Jut-su mostly because he was either asleep, thrown out of class or ditching. Mizuki fiddled with his jaw for a second checking that nothing was cracked before he faced the young blonde once again, getting kicked in the jaw by the class clown was not something he would have expected, but he was training to be a ninja. Mizuki jumped up and was going to do and air attack when Naruto did a perfect back flip to avoid it, the rushed forward with a speed that made Sasuke bubble with fury and punch his sensei in the stomach making all the air leave his lungs and then followed up by using his shoulders as a fault and when he was coming back down he flipped in the air and slammed his foot on the back of the elder ninja's neck sending him into the ground so hard it cracked the ground. The whole class stared at Naruto like he had just danced the hula in a grass skirt, and Iruka just smiled "Well that put's Naruto tied with Sasuke, you still have two minutes left" Mizuki had now pull himself from the floor and was now rushing to get to Naruto only to have his throat gripped tightly and then he felt his legs get swung out from underneath him and his back hit the floor and then his head followed suit making a loud cracking noise as it hit the ground. "Naruto that last moves make eleven, you have the highest score in the Tai Jut-su department" Iruka said in a proud voice.

Mizuki got up and watched as Naruto dusted off his orange jacket and then walked into the classroom silently without so much as a backwards glance. Up in the uppermost classroom one figure was smiling widely why the other one had a proud glint in his eyes "See what'd I tell you, he had that in the bag" the smiling one said nudging his companion happily.

"Yes but he hasn't ever studied Justus's and even with his scores on the other exams he won't pass unless he can at least do a clone technique" the two masked ANBU sighed and then disappeared before reporting back to their senior officer...Rat.

Naruto sighed and started to go back to sleep, while Kyuubi chuckled a little about how badly he had beaten up his sensei-who was now holding an ice pack to the back on his head, and about how he was going to have to give a really good excuse as to how he knew what to do. Naruto just sighed again and shuddered as vision as to what would hopefully be his last ANBU mission for a long time flashed through his head. The council had sent him up against three missing nin and in the end Naruto had to rely on his speed and his half sword which was a foot long at most and had to cut them multiple times so they bled to death, it was a messy and very painful death, and it resulted in the victims screaming for mercy as Naruto became covered in their life blood, the very blood that Kiba could smell on him at that very moment.

"**DON'T WORRY KIT, I'M SURE HE'S JUST CONFUSED AS TOO WHY YOU SMELL LIKE THAT" **Naruto agreed with his demonic tenant and then turned his attention to the one ninja who wasn't in ANBU who actually paid attention to him.

"Okay the final exam will be on the clone Jut-su" Iruka said and a lot of the students scoffed at the jut-su while Naruto groaned and slammed him head on the desk in front of him, it couldn't have been on the transformation Jut-su or anything else it had to be on the one jut-su he couldn't do at all, fate hated him.

One by one the students entered the classroom and one by one the exited with a headband on all smirking, smiling or squealing in joy as they were promoted to the rank of Genin, but when Naruto's own name was called the blonde didn't rush into the examination room but instead trudged in a way that would make even Shikamaru look enthusiastic. When he entered the room he saw a chair seated in the middle of the room, making his brow furrow in confusion. "Naruto sit down before when start the exam we have some questions about you written test" Naruto gulped and slowly took his seat. "Okay Naruto it's not that your answers were bad or anything it's just well" Iruka said trailing uncertainly looking to Mizuki for assistance.

"Well your answers are from the point of view of a assassin not a ninja, all your answers are one that would end up with the target dead, and in some of the questions we were hoping the answer would state that you would end up capturing the opponent for questioning, sometimes the elimination of the enemy isn't the answer everytime" Mizuki said to Naruto who couldn't fathom the idea of keeping a target alive, years of being the council's weapon had done that to him.

Naruto made a noise of agreement and then stood up as the instructors asked "Okay now Naruto you must create three suitable battle clones to pass considering you psychical prowess this should be easy" Iruka said with a smile on his face, Naruto gulped and with shaking hands got them in the correct position, he isn't know why the council hadn't let him learn the techniques, but all he knew was that no matter how hard he trained to perfect his chakra control he could never create one suitable clone and now he was asked to create three, he was doomed. But welling up all the relevantly small skill he had Naruto moulded his chakra and then released it creating a large explosion of smoke. But when it cleared Iruka's hopes were dashed when instead of three clones a single terrible clone was laying on the floor next the young blonde who looked like the world was destroyed. "I'm sorry Naruto...you fail" To the blonde the world had just died, with those five words Iruka had just sealed him to a life of unnecessary killings and long nights filled with nightmares. Mizuki watched Naruto and saw his eyes widened and then grinned as his plan formed.

Naruto sat on the swing sideways as he stared longingly at the group of newly appointed genin and their parents. He would never have that now, he had one chance and had blown it, and now he was going to be the council's perfect little killer for the rest of his shinobi life, and he would never truly have friends, the ANBU respect and fear him too much to want to be his friend, it was times like this he missed Ookami and his first ANBU squad. Naruto lowered his eyes as he heard the harsh whispers that two female villagers were saying about him and his demon big brother, it always hurt to hear the villagers talking about him like he was nothing but trash, normally Kyuubi was there to help him but at that moment Naruto had blocked all ties to his 'big brother' he didn't want to consoled he wanted to feel terrible and with Kyuubi being kind and tender and all soothing like he knew he wouldn't stay that way long. While he was in his pit of despair Naruto didn't notice the sad smiling face coming up behind him.

"You know he only means the best for you" Naruto looked up shock at the sound and then saw Mizuki smiling down at him "Iruka Sensei I mean" the elder chunnin said as an afterthought, Naruto nodded and then looked down in disappointment.

"Yeah well sometimes I don't think so, sometimes I think he's out to get me" he muttered as he opened his mental gates to his older brother who immediately swamped him with the feeling of love and comfort-the very thing Naruto had been dreading-although now he couldn't help but feel all warm and happy. "And I really wanted to pass, I needed to pass" He said whispering the last part almost so softly that the other sensei almost didn't hear it.

The blue haired ninja grinned to himself and then gave a dramatic sigh and put a hand to his forehead in a woo is me like move "Then I guess I'm just going to have to tell you then" Naruto looked up questionably and then cocked his head to the side when Mizuki smiled warmly "There's another way to become a genin" Naruto's face split into a bright grin and he gave his sensei the most hopeful look he'd ever given anyone.

"_**OH THIS IS GOING TO END BADLY" **_Kyuubi thought as he sensed the evil intent wafting off the chunnin next to him, but kept his thoughts to himself as he felt his charge's excitement and pure joy. _**"I JUST HOPE HE DOESN'T GET TO HURT"**_

Iruka looked at Naruto's beaten up form and then noticed that the strange boy didn't look scared or guilty that he had the scroll, in fact Naruto looked completely and utterly at ease with the fact that he had found him. "Found you" he said in an angry voice. Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned up at him happily.

"Man your quick sensei, I only had enough time to learn one of the technique's from the scroll, but that doesn't matter, I still get to be a genin right" Naruto asked happily as he held the scroll out to a confused Iruka who just stared at the demon jailor suspiciously.

"Naruto what do you mean" The tanned chunnin asked in a slow and careful voice, so that Naruto would get the impact of each of his words.  
The young teen looked at his sensei in confusion and then cocked his head to the side "Mizuki sensei told me that if I managed to steal this scroll and learn one of the Jut-su's in here then I could become a genin, he was the one who told me about this place" The blonde added as an afterthought.

Iruka stared at Naruto in shock and fear before it all clicked, but by then he heard the tell tale whistling of weapons in the air, so with a strength that Naruto didn't know he possessed, Iruka shoved the boy out of the way and was then hit by several kunai. At the sight of his sensei's blood Naruto went into his ANBU mode and began to scan the tree tops until he saw the blue haired shinobi with two large shurikens on his back. The man sneered at Naruto and the blonde felt his anger well up again, the man had played him and made it seem as if he was trying to help him when in reality he wanted to kill him.

"You're the same" Naruto whispered as he looked at the determined and pain filled face that Iruka was now sporting along side with his glare, "Why can you see the truth" he yelled at the elder ninja shocking Iruka by the venom and passionate hate behind his words.

Mizuki sneered again and looked down at the demon jailor who had his hands curled into fists by his sides "Truth, please, says the kid who has been lied to since the minute you were born" Naruto knew what was coming and ignored Iruka who was yelling at the traitorous ninja to stop "You see, the truth is the _Great _Fourth Hokage was unable to kill the demon fox and instead sealed it into you, your are just demon spawn" he said in utter disgust.

Naruto saw red as he heard the mockery the traitor had talked about the fourth in, and Kyuubi snarled just as loudly, **"KILL HIM KIT, RIP HIS VERY FLESH FROM HIS BONES" **Kyuubi snarled loudly. Naruto looked over at Iruka and smiled to let the elder man know everything was fine, before turning and glaring at his ex-sensei making the elder ninja shiver for a moment. "Don't ever talk about the fourth like that"

Mizuki laughed and threw one of his giant shurikens and Naruto just stood and was ready to catch it when Iruka surprised him by jumping in front of him and took the giant weapon in the back. "I'm sorry Naruto, I'm so sorry" Naruto's gaze softened and he put his forehead on the chunnin's effectively shocking him into silence.

"It's Okay Iruka Sensei, It's Okay I forgive you" Naruto said before stepping out to face the traitor, "I swear to god, for touching my sensei like that: I'm gonna kill you" Iruka turned slightly and stared at his student in awe, never in the three years since he met the child had he ever heard Naruto promise something so forcefully.

Mizuki laughed and then started to spin his last weapon "Let's see what you got Demon Fox" he spat and then saw the child put his hands in a cross sign, and was confused: he'd only seen Jonin use that hand sign.

"Oh I'll show you what a true demon does, _Multi Shadow Clone Jut-su_" Iruka's eyes widened when suddenly the clearing was filled with over one thousand Naruto, each of them solid and all looking for blood, "Didn't I tell you I was going to kill you" the all chanted in unison and Mizuki didn't even have time to scream as the wave fell down on his punching tearing and maiming. When the clones dispersed Iruka was shocked to see the original Naruto staring at his shaking blood covered hands, then with a smile he walked over to the child and pulled him into a hug.

"Naruto...you pass" Naruto smiled happily before two lone tears escaped pass his eyes and he buried his face into his sensei's jacket, it was the first time anyone had hugged him and given him something that made him feel good after killing someone.

"**GOOD JOB KIT, THE FOURTH WOULD BE PROUD OF YOU" **Naruto smiled at the fox's statement, as Iruka tied his own forehead protector around his forehead, **"YOUR FREE KIT, NO MORE ANBU...FOR NOW AT LEAST" **Naruto inwardly laughed with his big brother and then smiled and hugged his sensei once more only letting go when he complained that he was injured and was going to faint from blood loss.

**So What'd you think, just a bit of warning in the next few chapters everyone might think that this will be a KakaNaru pairing, not that it is not. Kakashi is a big brother father figure to Naruto and nothing more, I have nothing against this pairing and I had considered it for this story but I have decided to go to go with a different pairing. **

**Please Review**


	3. Music and Bells: Team 7 Is Formed

**Chapter 2: Music and Bells: Team 7 is formed. **

A week passed since Naruto killed Mizuki and gave back to the scroll of sealing and in that week Naruto found that not having assassinations late at night meant that Naruto had nothing to do at night which made for many a training filled night's until his body finally calmed down enough so that he could sleep, according to Kyuubi Naruto wouldn't be able to sleep a full eight hours ever because of the minimum amount of hours he had been getting for a good six years was so small that his body just couldn't handle long periods of sleep at all. But luckily, Kyuubi had decided to teach him some Jut-su's that weren't rare by any mean's just hard to do, when Kyuubi had told Naruto that the Jut-su's weren't at all that unique, the blonde had just wanted to learn them quicker so that he could show his soon to be Jonin sensei how strong he was becoming, but what Naruto didn't count on was that the Jut-su's he had been given to learn were extremely hard to learn and taxed even his extremely large chakra pools down to at least fifteen percent by the end of the night. But through sure will power and determination, Naruto had managed to perfect three out of the seven Jut-su's he had been given to learn, plus he had taken up doing daily Tai-Jut-su practise to keep his body in shape. By the time one week had been up, the blonde genin was tired, sore and ready to go to sleep for a month, but instead he was sitting down half asleep after yet again another sleepless night of training next to Kiba who seemed pleased that Naruto had only his own faint blood scent wafting around him-thank you training poles for splitting knuckles so damn well-and Shikamaru who also seemed pleased that the energetic blonde was too tired to annoy him.

"**KIT YOU KNOW IF YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT IT ONE OF YOUR SIX OF YOUR JUT-SU'S IS THE SAME JUT-SU JUST SPLIT OFF INTO DIFFERENT ELEMENTS" **The fox said in a surprised tone which made Naruto snicker a little and then nod.

"Yeah I know but it doesn't make them any easier to master does it" Naruto said jokingly back to his big brother who just sent a comforting wave if chakra through his body, making Naruto forget all about how tired he was and instead warmed him up and let him focus on the classroom.  
Ino and Sakura were fighting over who was going to sit next to Sasuke-who in turn looked totally uninterested with everything, Choji was eating another packet of chips, Shikamaru was staring out the window longingly, Kiba was talking to Akamaru energetically and the puppy was barking just as energetically back to his master, and Shino and Hinata was having a quiet conversation with Shino who looked the same as always. It was then that Iruka walked into the room and shouted for the class to –quote-sit down and shut up so he could hear himself think. When the class complied the chunnin sighed peacefully "Good, now I'm so glad to see each and every one of you all here sporting your headbands so proudly, you each have achieved so much to arrive to this point some more than others" Iruka smiled over at Naruto who smiled brightly back. "But things are only going to get harder from here, now each one of you will be put on a three man squad with a Jonin instructor who you will study and serve under the teams are as so..." Naruto tuned out and then closed his eyes and came face to face with Kyuubi who made a cooing noise.

"**HELLO LITTLE ONE, TIRED ARE YOU" **The large fox asked kindly. Naruto was sure that if he ever told anyone how nice and kind the Kyuubi really was when he wasn't under the control of some mad man he was sure he would be laughed at, hell he had laughed at it in history class once when the teacher had said that it was a blood thirsty beast-apparently according to the fox all the demons were actually quite nice but each had their vices-his was anger. **"DON'T WORRY LITTLE ONE, NO TRAINING TONIGHT, I WANT YOU JUST TO REST, EVEN IF THAT MEANS JUST WATCHING THE MOON" **Naruto smiled and hugged one of his big brothers tails through the cage bars, when the tail prodded him lightly **"GO NOW KIT, I FEAR YOU'LL MISS YOUR OWN TEAM PLACEMENT, AND WE DON'T NEED THAT" **The fox said nudging him lightly until Naruto chuckled and then woke up to his surroundings.

"Team 7 will consist of Sakura Hurno, Naruto Uzumaki" Naruto's ear perked up at this and he considered the pink haired Kunochi a little, she was the smartest in their grade-although both he and Kyuubi had an inkling that Shikamaru was smarter than everyone in the room-but lacked the physical prowess that say Ino had, to be said he had high hopes for her "and Sasuke Uchiha" and as quick as those Hopes had come they were dashed out the window at the name of the final member of the team, there was no way Sakura was going to get anywhere with her 'one true love' on the team, that is if he couldn't convince her otherwise.  
"Team 8 will consist of Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame" Naruto considered each teammate carefully and then smiled when he saw the Hokage's reasoning, with the Inuzukas and the Hyuga's abilities they would be able to track with no problem and then with Shino's bugs they could slowly drain their captive, it was a good plan.  
"Team Ten will consist of Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yakamara and Choji Akamichi" Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion, had he really spaced out that much that he didn't catch who was on Team 9 had he, well that really spoke at how alert he was. Naruto looked at Shikamaru next to him who had groaned and slammed his head on his desk, so without even thinking about it Naruto patted his shoulder making Shikamaru groan again.

"It'll be okay" he said in a normal tone, while still patting his back, Kiba held back sniggers as he watched the blonde boy try to calm down the sad lazy cloud watching boy. Naruto turned and smiled at him before scratching behind Akamaru's ears playfully, he didn't know why but Naruto and Akamaru had a friendship that he couldn't fathom, it wasn't like their own but it would be like if he was hurt and Akamaru need to go get help Kiba was sure that the little white puppy would go and get the blonde boy. "Are you happy with your team Kiba" the blonde boy asked nicely

Kiba nodded and then looked away from the blonde, he didn't know the kid too well, the only interaction they had was when they decided to skip classes together. But he knew that the blonde kid was different...brighter then every other young genin that had passed that year. Suddenly nine people walked in and slowly they each introduced themselves as the Jonin instructors but Naruto frown when he found one missing, his team's Jonin instructor to be exact.  
"Hello I am Kurenai Yuaka, I will be Team 8's Jonin Instructor, if they would be so kind as to follow me" The ruby eyed woman said motioning for her three students to follow her outside when a black haired man with a small beard walked forwards.  
"I am Asuma Hurezen; I will be Team 10's Jonin Instructor, get up and follow me" He said in a kind but rude way, Shikamaru sighed again and banged his head on the table not even registering the soothing motions Naruto was still doing on his back to comfort him. Naruto continued to rub the other boy's back and when he didn't move from his spot he squeezed his shoulder and softly nudged him in the right direction. Shikamaru gave Naruto a confused look to which he just smiled back at. Iruka looked at the last three students in the class room and chuckled nervously.

"Ah it seems your sensei is late, all is and tell you is that his name is Kakashi Hatake, and good luck" Iruka smiled once more and left the three students to their own devices. Naruto smiled and then stretched up cracking his joints as he went and then put his head on his crossed arms and went to sleep which made Kyuubi chuckle a little.

"_**YOU REALLY DO ACT LIKE A FOX, YOU'D RATHER SLEEP DURING THE DAY THAN AT NIGHT" **_The demon said as he watched as Naruto's spiritual form leant up against the bars and fell asleep. Sasuke looked at the sleeping blonde and then over to the pink haired girl who was regarding the blonde as well, truthfully the young boy was the most mysterious out of the three of them. No One knew who his parent's were, not even the boy himself knew, and then when he was six he disappeared for three years only to return when he was nine smiling shyly up at the whole class. Then he proceed to be an enigma, having an ANBU escort him to and from school, or the play ground and sometimes he even saw the young boy just hanging out with one of the masked ninja, that itself made the Uchiha suspicious of his newly appointed team mate.

Two hours passed and Sakura and Sasuke were beginning to get annoyed, the pink haired ninja had began to tap her fingers on the table in a irate motion just waiting for her teacher to come so she could chew him out. Sasuke was mad, no scratch that he was furious, but unlike the female member on his team he showed this by a simple twitch of his eye, but when both members of team 7 looked over at Naruto they saw that he was still peacefully asleep although he showed signs of waking. Ten minutes later Naruto lifted his head off the desk and rubbed his eyes and cocked his head to the side when he heard footsteps padding down the hall, but when he looked over to his teammates he noticed that they couldn't hear them, but when a shadow fell across the tinted glass window of the academy door Naruto's whole demeanour picked up. When the man stuck his head through the door Naruto almost froze when he saw the tilted silver hair that reminded him so much of Ookami, but then he looked into the man's lone visible eye, he saw a warmness and secure protection that he'd never had before: something that he'd always wanted. So with a gulp he smiled at the masked man and cocked his head to the side. "You must be our sensei" The man smile-which meant his left eye closed and slight creases in his mask formed-and nodded before looking over the team, Kakashi looked at the two kids giving him evil eyes and then at Naruto who's expression was as innocent and child like as he remembered.

"Yes, that would be me, my first impression of you...I don't like you, not off to a good start" Naruto smiled widely at their teacher and scratched the back of his head, "Now meet me up on the roof" When he disappeared in a pool of smoke, Naruto stood up and stretched cracking his joints before walking out towards the roof, only pausing to look back in the classroom and smiling at the two shocked genin "You Coming?"

Kakashi watched as Naruto sat down first and just stared at the sky, it made Kakashi almost wince at the familiar action. He remembered taking the eight year old Naruto dressed in a hooded cloak and ANBU gear to a grassy hill late one night so that the young boy could watch the stars, but then remembering Naruto from his ANBU days reminded him of the scared and slightly betrayed look that he had seen on the boy's face when he had been walking out of the base with his mask in place for the last time.

"Sensei?" Kakashi's head snapped up and he saw Naruto's bright blue eyes staring right into his own almost as if he could stare into his soul "Are you okay, you were spacing out for a minute there" Before Kakashi could answer his two other students stomped towards him with glares directed at him.

"Alright now that we're all here" there were those death glares again "we can introduce ourselves, you know you likes, your dislikes, your hobbies your dreams for the future things like that"

Sakura frowned slightly "Could you go first sensei, so we know what to do" she asked, motioning towards him with her hand. Naruto smiled and looked so hopeful Kakashi smiled-again they think it was a smile-and nodded.

"Sure" then the older man tapped his finger lightly "Okay my name is Kakashi Hatake, I don't trust you enough to tell you my likes...I don't have many dislikes, my hobbies...my dreams for the future, I never really thought about it" Sakura's brow twitched and she turned to her team  
"All he told us was his name" Sasuke gave the pink haired give a nod while Naruto cocked his head to the side and almost whined, actually his whole demeanour seemed to have fallen when he heard Kakashi didn't trust them. Sakura noticed this and couldn't help but feel sorry for the blonde, she had a feeling that having the trust of others meant a lot to the blonde and she knew that he put his trust in others fully; he was just that kind of guy. "Alright, pinkie you're up" Sakura growled at the nickname and then cleared her throat "My Name's Sakura Hurno my likes are..." she looks over to Sasuke and giggles "My hobbies are" and she giggles again "My dreams for the future..."and yet another giggle.

Kakashi could have groaned but stopped the urge "and your dislikes" Sakura hesitated and then made up her mind "INO PIG" she shouted. Naruto's eyes widened and he almost quivered in fear, her voice was scary when she was mad, not that her killer instinct was anything great but just the tone of her voice made even Kyuubi shiver a little.

Kakashi sweat dropped and rubbed him chin _'well at least she's consistent' _Kakashi turned to face Sasuke "All right the broody one in the middle"

Sasuke glared a little and then interlaced his fingers trying to ignore the piercing deep blue eyes Naruto had focused on him. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I don't like much, and I have many dislikes, and I can't really say I have a dream, more of an ambition, to kill a certain man" Naruto could feel the hate rolling off the avenger next to him and was immediately reminded of his guardian from years ago and had to advert his eyes sadly.

Kakashi saw this and immediately knew what the young blonde had been thinking about, and he felt the guilt from his ANBU days return, "Okay blondie your turn" Naruto looked up and smiled at the elder man happy that he finally got to introduce himself to the team he hoped would care for him, like he would them.

"My Name is Naruto Uzumaki I like...uh" Naruto paused and looked down and frowned, never once in his life had he been asked what he liked but when his enhanced senses heard the faint string of a harp on the winds a smile graced his face "I like music" Kakashi smiled as he remembered how much Naruto had stuck with Ram in his early days at ANBU, it was a known fact that Ram was the best musician in the whole village. "My hobbies are...I don't really have any hobbies" again Kakashi felt terrible growing up in ANBU the way he did Naruto was never allowed to learn how to do anything other than kill and if he did he wouldn't have been able to do it enough to consider it a hobby. "My dislikes...I hate causing my precious people pain, I would rather take their pain and suffer for them so that they could be happy" Sakura and Sasuke stared at the young boy in shock, never had they heard anyone talk that way: so passionately, "My dream for the future...the be regarded as a protector, a leader instead of a killer" Kakashi nodded and then clapped.

"Good now that we have got to know each other I need you to make sure you go home and get some rest, tomorrow you will have survival training" Naruto perked up at those words, he actually loved survival training, he was just...well he was excellent at it, because he used his instincts to fight he could react in a moment's notice. But the others...didn't feel that way.

"What! Why do we have to do survival training again, we already studied it at the academy" Sakura said making Naruto's good mood disappear, but then suddenly Kakashi began to laugh, his shoulders shaking from the effort to contain the laughter. Naruto watched his sensei and came to the conclusion that he had a lot of secrets.

"This is no ordinary survival training, did you know that out of all the students that passed only nine of them will go on to become actual genin" and with that one sentence Naruto felt his entire world crumble. If he didn't become one of those nine genin then he would be stuck as an ANBU killer for the rest of his life-that wasn't going to happen. "And to make things worse, the failure rate of this test...is about 63%" Both Sakura and Sasuke gasped why Naruto just stared at their sensei with a blank look on his face. "Now please report to the training ground seven at 5:30 am, oh and don't eat breakfast" Naruto stood up and began to walk off, he knew that the silver haired man had more to say but he just couldn't bring himself to care.

"**KIT YOU SHOULD RELAX, YOU'LL DO FINE, YOU ALWAYS DO" **Naruto smiled slightly at Kyuubi's warm words and then used all the power he had and launched himself off the roof top and towards the forest. Ever since he was a boy even younger than before ANBU Naruto had always loved the forest and when he found out about Kyuubi he became even more entranced with the natural wonder and even sometimes encouraged whatever team he was with at the time to let him sleep outside in a tree or in a hollow. So know that he was out in the glowing forest he hummed happily and then stopped on a random branch and began to climb the tree expertly until he was sitting on the canopy staring out at the view before him.

_The world is so beautiful _he thought as a blue bird fluttered around him before landing on his shoulder and nestling into the crook of his neck. Naruto smiled at the little bird and stared at the clouds and closed his eyes as he listened to the forest song. Kyuubi hummed along with the forest making Naruto smile brightly.

"**YOU SHOULD REST LITTLE ONE" **Naruto chuckled and shook his head, and then sighed as the wind ruffled his blonde locks **"YOU ARE QUITE THE STRANGE ONE MY LITTLE KIT" **Kyuubi said making Naruto laugh a little, if he was strange the Kyuubi was twisted. The sun began to set and Naruto still remained seated on his tree top, the blue bird had flown off a while ago with its mother and Naruto couldn't help but smile sadly at the family, as much as he loved Kyuubi he wanted a mother, he wanted a father but he knew he would never get that.

Kakashi sat on a lower branch and stared at his blonde student through the foliage and couldn't help but shake his head at his antics, he was still like the ball of sunshine that had flooded the ANBU and made their jobs a little more easier and a little easier to get through. But as dusk settled he watched as the kid launched himself from the tree to a different one with the grace of a lemur and the watched as he did it again, it wasn't until he did it a third time that the elder ninja knew what the young blonde was doing. The boy was hunting. Directing his eyesight to line up with the leaping boy Kakashi spotted the young deer calf he was shadowing and the grinned when the boy expertly threw the kunai and hit him in the neck. But what made Kakashi the most surprised is when Naruto leapt down next to the struggling dying body of the deer and put the head in his lap and strokes it until it still. Kakashi smiled slightly as he watched Naruto bless the carcass before removing the deer's innards and then skinned the dead animal. That's when the silver haired ninja decided to leave, even after knowing Naruto on a personal level after all his years in ANBU with the boy Kakashi knew that the blonde didn't like others around when he killed an animal to eat it was disrespectful to watch according to the blonde.

The as the sun finally set Naruto was finally alone in the forest with only Kyuubi and the forest around him as comfort.

Naruto awoke at dawn as the sky started turning a light purple with a yellow tint on the horizon. After three hours of rest the blonde had never felt better, with the three hours he'd gotten in the classroom coupled with the hours he had managed to get that night had made him in a better mood than he had been in weeks. **"YOU SEEM TO BE VERY WELL RESTED KIT" **Naruto smiled when Kyuubi's voice boomed out through his head and he nodded happily at the demon fox.

"Yep I feel much better...although I don't think that I'll be sleeping tonight" he said in a happy voice before he went over to his dying campfire that held the remains of the deer he had eaten that night. Sighing Naruto walked over to the meat and tore a strip off it and began chewing thoughtfully, the deer he was eating could have been one of the Nara's young foals but the one thing the blonde ANBU killer had learnt very early on was that was in the forest was his to take as long as he showed his gratitude to the animal, most of the time he liked killing the animal in one swift attack so that the animal wasn't given anymore pain then what was necessary but when he missed he would comfort the animal till it die like he had done with the calf the other night.

"**KIT ISN'T TIEM YOU WENT AND GAVE YOUR THANKS?" **Naruto's eyes widened and he left the meat to be eaten by the scavengers as he raced off towards the very outskirts of the village. Every week sometimes more than once Naruto would go to the Yondiame shrine and pray and give thanks to the hero for saving the village and sacrificing himself to save the village, sometimes he even thanked the great warrior for choosing him to hold the great fox demon in his body. The elderly couple who work at the shrine didn't hate Naruto, in fact they liked the blonde boy, he was quiet and spent a lot of time there reflecting and praying, sometimes he brought back gems and precious things the honour the grave with, so when the boy turned up at the shrine and dawn the doors were already open for him.

Naruto sighed and then sat in front of the shrine in the lotus position and closed his eyes and opened his mind, only when he did this would he be able to pray properly. As he opened his eyes many pictures flew past his minds eyes, pictures of Ookami and Rat, pictures of the village, of the two elderly couple in the shrine, Kyuubi and then Iruka. With practised ease Naruto took began to bless the shrine with the dance of sending. It was a complicated dance but Naruto had done it so many times now it was like riding a bicycle, the only problem about the dance of sending is that you bless the departed spirit with your own chakra so it was quiet draining, especially when you have to bless the god of death as well. The hymn of sending-**AN if you want to know what type of hymn I'm thinking of look up the theme for Zankarkand from FFX**-continued on and Naruto felt the his chakra begin to be sent to the soul of the Yondiame, it was taxing but Naruto didn't stop, and when he opened his eyes he saw his Chakra taking the form of various animals that were running away from his body and towards the shrine where they would disappear in a burst. The hymn hit its crescendo and Naruto pushed his chakra to its maximum and began to get to the harder part of the dance: where you prove that your offering was pure: by offering the gods of the shrine to look into your soul. In the Yondiame shrine there were four gods, and you could pray to them as well as their statues stood in each corner of the shrine room. The first was a large masked rainbow bird- Valor god of wind, second was a huge horned bracelet wearing wolf-Inferno god of fire, third was A Large horned horse with tassels hanging from its mane-Rai the god of lightning and the fourth god was a large armoured dragon with chains holding it down while it's wings are spread wide a large crystal being held between them-Fennier the god of water and ice. Naruto dropped all insecurities he had and allowed the ancient beasts and their chakra wander through his soul, but not once did he stop dancing not even as the freezing touches of Fennier's aura, or the hellish burning of Inferno's life power, of the sparking and crackling of Rai's emotions, not even when the powerful gale of Valor's judgement swept through him at the same time. Finally after what felt like hours of dancing the gods finally withdrew and the four orbs that laid at each of the statue's feet glowed brightly signalling to Naruto that the gods approved. Finally the hymn died down and Naruto bowed to the shrine again on shaky legs, it would take at least an hour to regain all his chakra but to Naruto the offerings he gave the Fourth Hokage and the gods were more special to him than any village's approval, he had the approval of four gods.

"**KIT YOU DID VERY WELL, I DON'T THINK YOU'VE DONE BETTER, I MEAN NOT EVEN INFERNO DOUBTED YOUR CHAKRA THIS TIME" **Kyuubi said making Naruto grin when he had first attempted to get the gods approval he had, had to dance for an extra ten minutes as the fire god couldn't make up his mind if the boy was good enough but then on the verge of collapsing the flaming wolf had approved and Naruto had been approved by all four gods before collapsing, then he had woke up one hour later with Ookami starring down at him.

Naruto starred out the window a noticed that the sun was bright and shinning not to mention quite high it had to be at least eight o'clock in the morning. Naruto looked around the shrine and saw only a few people who were spraying to one of the god statues but stayed away from the sending platform which is where Naruto was seated. The caretakers of the shrine smiled at Naruto and Naruto nodded back before praying again, while he didn't have to send again he still like to pray. Something many other people didn't understand was that even after his sending Naruto felt it necessary to give his thanks to everyone the same even if it drained him mentally. By the time he was finished the shrine was filling in with people and Naruto knew he was already late for his team meeting but he couldn't seem to care. Luckily his chakra had returned to 85%, so now the blonde felt he could at least try to pass his survival training. When Naruto arrived at the training ground he happy to see that Kakashi hadn't arrived and with a large grin he leapt down into the field making Sakura squeal and Sasuke shoot him a tired glare, it was obvious they had been here a while.

"Naruto, why were you late" The tired girl gritted out, Naruto didn't understand why the girl was so tired, years of staying up late and getting very little sleep made Naruto use to early mornings.

"I was praying" Sasuke and Sakura gave him a look of disbelief that made Naruto self-conscious, was it really such a strange thing to say that he was praying, so quickly he jumped onto top of one of the wooden training stumps and the brought out his pipe-the instrument-and began to play a haunting but catchy tone. Sasuke's eye widened as the tone rang through his mind, he knew the song but he couldn't place it. Sakura smiled and began to sway with the tune, whatever Naruto was doing before this she didn't care as long as he continued to play he couldn't care less, it was beautiful and her anger just faded away Naruto continued to play his song and as it finished he didn't stop but just continued onto an ancient song that made Sasuke's eyes widen, it was as if the ancient knowledge and messages ran off the notes, it was then that Sasuke noted that Naruto wasn't using any chakra at all to tamper with the notes all of the notes were coming from that little wooden instrument. Kyuubi listened to the music and almost laughed when he noticed that the child was playing the song of sacrifice, the very song that he had sung to the kit as a lullaby when things in ANBU got too bad. Sakura shivered when the wind blew pass her, the song Naruto was playing it felt powerful god like almost celestial.

"Naruto what is that" Sasuke whispered, images of his family were running through his mind and not ones he'd meet but his ancestors and that scared the Uchiha heir more than he would like to admit. The blonde didn't answer but instead began to play a cheerier tune which made the more serious atmosphere dissipate, that is what Naruto loved the most about music, it can change the mood in mere seconds, and he hadn't meant to cause his teammates distress or discomfort.

Two more hours past but neither genin really notice as Naruto had moved to calming and easy listening songs, one moment he would be playing a happy tune one that would be heard in a pub as a drinking song, the next he was playing a soft soothing tune which made Sakura almost fall asleep. When Naruto changed song no one could really tell as the song merely flowed into another, so when Naruto started playing a heart lifting tune Sakura began to laugh joyfully- making Sasuke actually surprised that the sound was actually quite nice-and began clapping along. When Kakashi arrived he saw Naruto sitting atop one of the three training stumps' playing a wooden pipe, which itself was surprising but the fact that he was playing well made Kakashi more than impressed, while Sakura sat on the grass watching Naruto and smiling as he played a catchy tune which had her laughing happily, and Sasuke was leaning against the same training post Naruto was sitting on with a happy smirk on his face as he listened to the music and...Was he watching Sakura?

"Good Morning" he called out cheerfully, suddenly Naruto's music stopped and Sakura's face became angry and Sasuke gave him a death glare worthy of his older brother which was a big feat. "I'm sorry I was so late but a black cat walk in front of me so I had to take the long way around so that I didn't get bad luck" Naruto gave him a big grin and then jumped to his feet still holding onto his pipe.

"Well it's already eleven so are we gonna do this" he asked happily, Sakura laughed a little and nodded before Naruto flipped off the log and landed next to her and smiled back before looking up at him with bright eyes and a happy smile. "So what will we be surviving today?"

Kakashi smiled at his student's and then took out an alarm clock "Me" Kakashi had to stop the laughter that was bubbling to the surface as he looked at Naruto's bright eyes and Sakura and Sasuke's disbelieving ones. Naruto smiled at their sensei and almost clapped, but then saw Sakura's uneasy look and his happiness dropped a little. "Okay here is how the test works, I have two bells" and there they were two little innocent bells on red strings in his hand "and you have to get one before the clock strikes noon to pass which means...one of you will be going back to the academy" Naruto stared at the bells for a moment before his brow furrowed in confusion. "No go" two of the three ninja disappeared in a flash and Kakashi was shocked and devastated that Naruto just stood there with his frown still marring his face. "Ah Naruto you know I don't think you get the idea of the exercise"

Naruto's frown deepened and he leapt back atop the wooden stump and began to play a complicated tune which made Kakashi enraptured with the skill the boy was showing, heck if he fails to be a ninja and didn't want to go back to ANBU he could always be a street performer. But what made things even more strange is that he was doing this performance during the middle of his official genin test to him this would be make it or break it. Sighing Kakashi took out his precious book and began to read happily along with the music. Unlike their sensei the two other members of team 7 were utterly dumbfounded that Naruto was actually playing his pipe at a moment like this. Twenty minutes passed and suddenly Naruto stopped playing his instrument and then leapt into the forest shocking Kakashi as he had not been expecting the blonde to disappear as quickly as he did-and he would be lying if he said he wasn't going to miss the soothing melody that the young blonde had been playing.

_Of course its teamwork how stupid could I have been we are always put on three man squads unless the mission calls for more_ Naruto yelled a mentally making Kyuubi sigh. The boy had a habit of tearing strips into himself if he didn't perform to the standard that had been set for him at the tender age of six. When Naruto felt the tingling of a gen Jut-su being cast he changed his course so he could intercept it so when he saw Sakura about to scream he ran forward and slammed her into a tree under the watchful eyes of Kakashi who winced at Naruto's painful awaking although there was no doubt in his mind that the pink haired scholar would be pulled out of is Gen-jut-su with that pain.

Sakura felt the back of her head explode in pain and then her vision cleared and she was staring into Naruto's bright blue eyes "Sakura I need your help" The pink haired girl's eyebrows rose to her hairline and she looked into his eyes and nodded, "I want to work together"

"Naruto there are two bells" she whispered stressing the word two to the extreme but then shut up when Naruto shook his head violently.

"Doesn't matter now come on we have to get Sasuke" when the two of them entered the field they saw Sasuke buried in the ground with only his head above ground. Sasuke glared at the two of them an unexpectedly Sakura was the one who burst into laughter instead of swooning. Naruto just sighed and squatted until he was eye level with the head."Look I know you're going to hate me but I want to work together, and whoever gets the bells keeps them and don't protests look at yourself" Sasuke looked at the ground but then turned his head away with a snort so Naruto sighed "If you don't help us we won't dig you out" Sasuke froze and then mere moments later he was out of the ground and glaring at Naruto who was dusting his pants off.

"So how are we going to do this" Sasuke asked irritated that he had to actually keep his word to the blonde and team up with him and Sakura to get the bells. Naruto stared at him for a moment unwavering and then at Sakura and then smirked.

Kakashi frowned and glanced over the top of his book, something was wrong, where were his students, they had ten more minutes to get a bell but since Sasuke had tried to get him nothing had happened, Sakura hadn't attacked once and Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if Naruto had really damaged her when he slammed her into the tree earlier. But suddenly a deadly fox like howl echoed through the forest and Kakashi spun around only just in time to dodge a drop kick from Sasuke. Sasuke smirked at their sensei and then began to engage him in a mock Tai-jut-su battle and then in a move that made even the Jonin surprised he sprung over his head and Kakashi completely missed Naruto come in with an upwards kick hitting him firmly in the throat, Kakashi couldn't help but have a proud grin when he saw Naruto's firm stance. Although when Sasuke's arms wrapped around his neck in a choke hold and Naruto had a kunai at his throat he knew that this wasn't just a fluke.

"Sakura Now"

Kakashi's eyes widened when a pink streak shot out of the forest and snatched his bells before he could think, Sasuke leapt from his spot on his back and Naruto took over sweeping his feet from under him and then sat on his chest with the kunai at his throat. The cold metal of the blade mad him freeze and look into the bright eyes of his blonde student. It was hard for the hardened Jonin to remember that this small young blonde had been trained to perfection in Tai-jut-su and speed in ANBU , the kid was just to kind and bright but then when you put him on the battlefield he really did live up to his name. Sasuke had picked up the last bell and now he and Sakura were both standing with the bells in their hands, but unlike Sasuke who had a smirk on his face Sakura had a sad expression on her face before holding out the bell to her blonde teammate.

"Here Naruto take it, all this was your plan" Sakura said holding out the tiny bell and was then shocked when the blonde who was still sitting on their sensei shook his head "but why not don't you want to be a ninja too, I heard you weren't allowed to go back to the academy after this year" she protested.

Naruto smiled at the girl happy that she cared for him enough to give him the bell after she got one "No Sakura, it's yours, look your right if I fail here today that's it I can no longer become a ninja but the thing is I would never purposely take someone else's future away from them do you remember what I said what my dream for the future was: I said that I wanted to be a protector, a leader, what kind of leader would I be if I left my comrades to die" Kakashi froze when he listened to Naruto's speech and couldn't help remember Obito saying that very same thing to him when he had finally achieved Chunnin status.

Sakura look a little taken back and then nodded why holding the bell to her chest like it was a precious object mouthing a silent thank you to Naruto who just shook his head once again. Sasuke watched the exchange with a frown and then glared at Naruto "Are you an idiot you just lost your one chance to be a ninja and you don't care?"

Naruto fixed Sasuke with a confused glance and then smiled sadly "I care, more than you will ever know but a true ninja...they don't cause their teammates however fleeting the team was together they don't cause them pain ever" Sasuke almost took a step back at the pure passion that Naruto's voice contained. Naruto got up and pocketed his Kunai and allowed Kakashi to stand up before taking out his pipe once again and began to play the lighter happier version of the Hymn of sending.

"Naruto what are you doing?" Kakashi asked as he watched the boy with confusion, how was it the blonde who was sure he had failed was able to stand there and play his pipe as if failing wasn't going to set his future in stone. The blonde stopped playing and looked up at him and cocked his head to the side.

"I'm playing my pipe" he said slowly as if talking to a five year old.

Sakura giggled a little when she heard the tone of Naruto's voice and the way he was speaking to their sensei like a five year old, it was funny, the fact that he could make even the Jonin in the village seem like idiots. Sasuke smirked and Kakashi blushed a little, he should have known Naruto would do something like that to him, he had always been a smartass and when the opportunity presented itself to him.

"That's not what I meant" Naruto looked at Kakashi strangely and then cocked his head to the side "I'm passing all three of you" Naruto and the other two genin all stared at their sensei and the silver haired ninja walked over to a large blue stone and bowed his head. Naruto knew this stone, he knew it well Ookami had made him visit it at least once a week when he had been his superior. "This stone holds many of my close personal friends names on it, and all of those names have been KIA"

Naruto looked away and Sakura's face clouded in confusion "It means Killed in action" Naruto said sadly and Sakura's face morphed into one of sadness, hell even Sasuke had the decency to look take aback "A lot of these people died for their teammates, instead completing their missions"

Kakashi nodded and then turned back to his team "I'll admit that ninja who follow the rules, are excellent shinobi there is no doubt about that but...to me people who would abandon their friends...they're worse than trash" Naruto gulped, if he hadn't thought that Kakashi was like Ookami before he defiantly thought he was now. "Okay tomorrow we start missions as Team 7"

Sakura and Sasuke cheered happily while Naruto just smiled warmly at his new sensei and then ran out of the clearing and into the forest making Kakashi smile a little. Then he shushinned away into the Jonin lounge where all the other Jonin senseis were waiting. Asuma was the first to smile and clap him on the back before dragging him to his seat. "Okay let's hear some stories" the bearded man said with a grin. Kakashi rolled his eyes and took his seat and held his book in front of his face and began reading drowning out many of the ramblings of his fellow Jonin.

"Team 8 passed" Kurenai said happily making many of the Jonin look up in surprise "Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame and very skilled at their families jut-su so much in fact that I'm going to suggest to their families that they start advanced training with their boys immediately" Kakashi looked up in interest and couldn't help but wonder if he would have passed the team. "Another thing is all three of them including Hinata work like a well oiled machine already, something about Hinata's compassion and the boy's lives, Shino has a hive like mind and Kiba is used to the pack mentality" Kakashi was shocked, of course Kurenai-the newest Jonin would get the best teamwork team.

Asuma smirked and took a long drag from his cigarette "Team 10 passed. I'm telling you they are the second coming of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation. Except...Ino isn't focused enough to be a real Kunochi and Choji just wants to eat all the time" Asuma paused and then his eyes unfocused "Shikamaru in my opinion is the laziest kid I've ever had to meet, he would rather sleep all night than actually work, but when you put all three on the field together, it's like watching their dads when they were kids, amazing" Asuma said the pride in his voice very noticeable

All the Jonin in the room turned to Kakashi who put his book down and sighed "Team 7...passed" All the other Jonin stared at Kakashi in shock who quickly held up his hand to stop protests "I'm not lying, my team is different, Sasuke is obviously good, he has decent chakra control and can already use fire jut-su, Sakura is smart and swift but needs work, but the most unusual was Naruto. At first he just sat there and played his pipe, then suddenly as if he was struck by lightning he just disappeared the next thing I know I'm being tackled by Naruto and Sakura had the bells, what made me even more surprised is when Sasuke got the other bell Naruto refused to take his offered one off Sakura saying that he couldn't cause his teammates any harm" The Jonin all looked at each other in shock, who would have thought that the demon jailor could be that self sacrificing

"Very well have the teams been decided" The Hokage asked walking into the room with his ANBU guards following only a step behind making all the other ninja in the room freeze and bow their heads in respect for their great leader.

"Yes Lord Hokage" One of the Jonin said scratching his head, "Teams 7, 8 and 10 have passed their unofficial Genin exams" The Hokage paused for a second when the Jonin instructors stood up and was taken back when Kakashi stood up.

"Well I have a feeling we should expect great things from this batch of rookies"


	4. Demon Of the Mist and The Mysterious Kit

**Chapter 3: Demon of the Mist and the Mysterious Kitsune **

Kakashi pressed the intercom button on his wireless communicator and then sighed; he forgot how boring this mission really was "Target has moved are you in position" he stated his voice full of boredom.

"I'm in position" that was Sasuke

"So am I" there was Sakura

"Yawn why are we doing this again?" and there was Naruto

Kakashi held back a laugh, sometimes he had to actually stop himself from thinking of Naruto as Kitsune, but he had to be his sensei not his friend not his comrade "Naruto please were on a mission" he sighed

"Fine" came the stubborn reply

Team 7 had been together for the last three weeks and every day the team met the same ritual would happen, Sakura and Sasuke would arrive at the right time, then Naruto would arrive two hours late and give them an outrageous excuse like he was catching up with an ANBU officer before he would settle down somewhere and would play his pipe and then Kakashi would arrive three hours late and give them their missions. Today they had the infamous "Catch Tora the Cat" mission.

Naruto sighed as he spotted the cat and then leapt on it only to have it start scratching him deadly, after a minute or so Naruto glared at the cat making it freeze and fall silent in his arms. When Kakashi arrived on the scene and Saw Naruto stroking a now purring Tora in his arms he knew that the cat would probably run away just at the chance that Naruto would stoke him all over again.

"Very good team, let's head in" Naruto nodded and then scratched behind the cat's eat making it turn into goo and almost fall asleep in his arms. Kakashi smiled and shook his head; only Naruto would be able to tame Tora, although the young blonde had always had a connection to all animals but it seemed that cat's were wary around the blonde-that is until he lavished them with attention. Sakura shook her head and grinned a little, after everything she had heard about the Tora the cat mission she was on a team with Naruto, the one boy who has been recorded to have ever calmed Tora down. Sasuke sighed and thanked whatever god was looking out for him for letting him get paired up with Naruto who knew how to handle evil cats that seemed to want to kill him.

When team 7 arrived at the mission office all three genin were shocked when Tora's owner grabbed the terrified cat from Naruto's arms and proceeded to give it the strongest bear hug all three genin had ever seen. Naruto who felt bad for the poor animal walked up to the larger lady and whispered something in her ear. Suddenly the woman gasped and pulled her cat up to eye level and then smiled at Naruto warmly.

"Why thank you young man I will" The lady said before holding a much more comfortable Tora in her arms and giving one of the chunnin behind the desk the money required to pay for the mission. Sakura stared at Naruto in shock while everyone else in the room stared in disbelief; no one in the history of that one mission had ever gotten that reaction out of the owner.

"Naruto what did you ask?" Kakashi asked in a dazed and confused voice, Naruto smiled and shook his head.

"I merely told her that maybe it would be a good idea to loosen up on her grip because it seemed that she was hurting her precious cat" Naruto said simply making the Chunnin in the room stare at him shock. "What" the blonde asked innocently

The Hokage shook his head and then cleared his throat "Okay team seven you have the next choice of missions including walking the Inuzuka's dogs, fixing the Yamakas roof or"

"Old Man" The Hokage looked up and caught Naruto's eyes which had taken on their ANBU like quality and screamed at _'I swear if you don't give us something better I will hurt you in the best way I know how' _The Hokage gulped and gave Naruto a small smile and then looked at the C ranked missions and picked the first one he saw.

"On the other hand I think you're ready for a C ranked mission" Naruto's glare softened and the Hokage felt relief wash through him "Yes an escort mission should do" Sasuke smirked and Sakura couldn't help but smile while Kakashi just stared at the Hokage like he was crazy who gives a fresh genin team a C ranked mission only mere weeks after it's been formed. "Could you send in Tazuna?"All four members of squad seven looked at the door and all frowned when a drunken old man leant on the doorframe for support.

"Huh are these three supposed to be my escort, they're kids...and the one in the orange and black looks like a toad" the whole room fell silent and Naruto lowered his head so his bangs covered his eyes while he shook in fury.

"Ah Tazuna maybe you should apologize Naruto is...a little different" Sakura nodded along with Sasuke as Kakashi tried to get their client to apologize, they still remembered what happened to Sasuke during the Tai Jut-su spar Kakashi had made them do after the raven insulted the blondes clothing-the training field was unrecognizable for a good three days.

"Nah what real ninja wears orange, it's ugly" Kakashi sighed and stepped back while Naruto pierced the man with a glare which froze the man in place why he stalked towards him.

"Listen here you drunk, did you know that in the animal kingdom the most dangerous animals wear the brightest colours" Tazuna gulped as Naruto glared up at him "and trust me when I say this...the same rule applies to me" With that Naruto turned on his heel and disappeared down the corridor making the room breathe a sigh of relief.

"Bit of advice Tazuna...don't make fun of his attire" Kakashi said as he patted the now sobering man on the back once before walking out the door followed by Sasuke and Sakura who both had amused grins on their faces.

Naruto grumbled as he walked down the streets about drunken men and annoying missions when suddenly he ran into someone and stumbled backwards. When Naruto looked down he saw Kiba sprawled on the floor with Akamaru his hood thrown back by the force of his fall. Kiba was rubbing his head and still hadn't looked up. But Akamaru had and barked happily when he saw Naruto.

"Hey buddy" Naruto said scratching behind the dogs ears making the small puppy roll over to have its stomach rubbed. Naruto laughed and began to rub the little puppy's stomach making him bark happily. "Hey Kiba you alright"

The canine shinobi looked over at Naruto and nodded before chuckling when he saw that Akamaru had been reduced to a whimpering mess under Naruto's hands "Naruto you mind letting him up we got training to do" he asked happily, Naruto stood up and then clapped Kiba on the back before jumping off leaving Kiba standing in the middle of the street with Akamaru. "Well boy at least we know that Naruto hasn't been killed by Sakura for insulting Sasuke yet" Kiba said before picking the tiny puppy up and putting him on his head and then giving Naruto's back one more look before he leapt off towards his team's training grounds.

Before going back to his apartment to gather his stuff Naruto raced to the shrine where the two keepers of the shrine were praying to Valor's statue. The two keepers had been good to Naruto over the years, after Ookami had bought him to the shrine as a six year old, Naruto had made sure to come at least once a week and do a sending, but now he wouldn't be able to.

"Old Man Shun, Grandma Hoshi" Naruto called out to the two shrine keepers making them both smile warmly. Shun had been a ninja in his day while Hoshi was a sender, she had become very well respected and blessed many people, Shun had met her when she was only twenty and had become her protector they had married one year after meeting and when Shun had retired so had Hoshi and when the fourth died the council had asked them to guard over his shrine.

"Oh Naruto what are you doing here, you had your morning pray didn't you" Hoshi asked in a grandmotherly way as she smiled warmly at Naruto. Sometimes she wished she had talked the boy into following her footsteps, he was so talented when it came to sending that she wished that Naruto had taken that road in life.

"Ah well I won't be around here for a while, I've got a big mission coming up and I have to leave the village for a while, I came to tell you so you didn't get all upset when I didn't turn up" Naruto said scratching the back of his head.

Shun smiled and rubbed Naruto's hair affectionately "Thanks kid, at least now we can sleep in peace knowing that you're not dead, but promise us one thing" Naruto looked up curiously at the old ninja "Promise us that as soon as you get back you come here and pray for us"

Naruto waved him away and scoffed "I'll do one better, I give you a sending" Naruto said hitting his chest with his fist making Hoshi smile happily at his eagerness, sometimes the old lady could imagine that he was her grandson and was going on his very own sending quest.

"Be careful" she said before Naruto nodded and jumped off leaving them standing watching him leapt through the trees.

"**KIT, ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO WASTE YOUR TIME IN THIS TREE?" **Kyuubi said laughing as Naruto sat in the tree just outside the gate watching as his team started to get irritated as he and Kakashi hadn't arrived yet.

"Oh come on Kyu look at Sasuke, he actually looks like he's annoyed" Naruto said to mentally to the great demon as he sniggered as he watched Sasuke begin to fidget on the spot in annoyance while Tazuna seemed to be skittish "hmm I'll have to keep my eye on this one"

"**THAT WOULD BE WISE YOUNG ONE HE LOOKS TO NERVOUS FOR HIS OWN GOOD" **Kyuubi advised making Naruto sigh before jumping off his branch and landing on the ground right in front of Sakura who had to hold back a scream.

Tazuna gulped when he realized who had just dropped in, he would never again make fun of the orange wearing boy's clothes, and he wanted to live another few years thank you very much. Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose while Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.  
"Seriously Naruto why are you always so late" Sakura asked, she liked the blonde she did, he was like an annoying little brother you couldn't help but love, but sometimes she just couldn't understand how he worked at all "You're the one that left the Mission room first didn't you"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and then sighed "I tell you everytime you ask this question and everytime I do you don't believe me, I was at the Temple"

Sasuke snorted and shoved his hands even further into his pockets "Yes because you pray every day in some temple that I've never heard of" Naruto frowned and cocked his head to the side, he thought that every ninja knew about the fourth Hokage's shrine, it was just something that was so casual in ANBU that he didn't understand how the genin didn't know about the shrine. Suddenly Kakashi appeared in a large poof of smoke making Tazuna and the genin-minus Naruto-start to cough.

"Ah but Sasuke there is a temple in the leaf village, it's the fourth Hokage's shrine and is actually very well known in the shinobi circle, not many civilians go there though" Kakashi said opening his book as they started off through the forest,

Sakura frowned and looked at Kakashi with a curious glance "So why are Temples so important"

"Because each Temple is supposed to have a Sender" The scarecrows said in an all knowing voice

"What's a Sender?"

Senders bless people and perform ceremonies, although it takes a long time to be noticed as a sender, at the moment the Leaf village doesn't have an active sender" Kakashi said not taking his eyes off his book.

Sasuke just grunted and Naruto looked down, it was true that he wished he had become a sender some days but, now he was a ninja he couldn't just switch so he would do what he could by just sending locally. Tazuna cleared his throat and then began to look around nervously making Naruto on edge-no one notice except Kakashi, so when the group passed a innocent looking puddle Naruto couldn't help but frown, there was no way a puddle could be there, it hadn't rained for weeks.

"**KIT GET READY...AND REMEMBER TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS" **Kyuubi growled before fading away so that he would have a clear mind for the upcoming confrontation.  
Suddenly two chains wrapped themselves around Kakashi and two cloak wearing men pulled their gauntlets that the chains were attached to and Kakashi was shredded to pieces. "SENSEI!" Sakura screamed.  
Naruto glared and grabbed one of the chains and wrapped it around his hand, not even flinching when the metal cut into his skin and pulled the man forward. "Get over here" He growled and then punched the shocked ninja in the face before pulling out a hooked kunai knife that he had been given by Rat for a congratulation, and stabbed him in the gauntlet wearing shoulder rendering the arm useless before swinging up on his shoulders and placing his hands on either side of his head "You chose the wrong convoy to attack" he growled before twisting sharply. Sakura winced as a loud crack echoed from the man's body; Sasuke stared in shock from where he had bound the other ninja up as Naruto's opponent slumped to the ground lifelessly.

"BROTHER!" the other ninja screamed as Naruto ripped his kunai from his shoulder and advanced on the other ninja "You monster you killed my brother, why"

"Because you were trying to kill us" Naruto said placing the tip of his kunai on the man's jugular and was about to deal the final blow when he felt a warm comforting hand on his shoulder. "Naruto that's enough"

Naruto swung around and saw Kakashi standing behind him with a warm smile "You did well, but you don't have to do it, you've done enough" Naruto looked down at his bloody weapon and then at his teammates and then nodded before glaring at Tazuna so fiercely that the elder man started to shake.  
"You lied to us" Kakashi tied the ninja to the tree and saw Sakura holding Naruto back who was tense and looked ready to kill. Tazuna was shaking where he stood and kept his eyes down in shame. "Naruto's right, we were ordered to protect you from bandits and the sorts, these two are Ex-Chunin from the hidden mist village, so you want to tell us the truth" Kakashi said while placing a calming hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Tazuna gulped and then nodded "My village is just a small island known as the Land of Waves, it is very poor, because a few years ago a business man by the name of Gato took over and made us very poor, now I'm trying to build a bridge that will allow us to get traders in from all over the land, but you see Gato doesn't want to lose his power over us so he is trying to kill me to stop the work on the bridge, but because we don't have much money our village couldn't afford an B ranked mission let alone an A ranked mission, but I can understand if you don't want to continue, but just think about how my daughter and dear grandson, if I die they will forever curse the leaf village" Tazuna said dramatically and then twitched when he saw Naruto's unsympathetic glance.

"Look if we continue will you stop being such a drama queen about it?" he asked plainly making Sakura giggle and Sasuke snort in amusement. Tazuna went red but nodded and Naruto sighed and looked up at Kakashi who nodded.

"Okay we'll continue" Tazuna smiled and Naruto turned around and whipped his new Kunai on the ground so that the blood didn't rust the blade. Sasuke watched as Naruto walked straight pass him and then scowled as he remembered how quickly the blonde had killed his opponent.

"Naruto your bleeding" Kakashi said suddenly and Naruto remembered grabbing the chain and brought his hand up for inspecting on sighed when he noticed the wound was already healed. "Do you need help?"

Naruto held up his hand and shook his head "No sensei it's not my blood it's his" he said before whipping his hand on the ground to clean it as well. Kakashi just stared at Naruto and narrowed his eyes, he saw the chain cut into him and cut into his skin, the only reason Naruto couldn't be hurt at this moment would be that the Kyuubi healed him.

"Oh okay that's a relief, let's keep going" Kakashi said happily as he pulled out his book once again and began to read as they walked. Naruto-being as curious as he was leapt on Kakashi's shoulders and began to read as well.

"Kakashi sensei" the older shinobi looked up into Naruto's happy eyes "Do you have any more of these books, I'm a little confused because I don't know the start of the plot" Kakashi smiled and nodded

"When we get to back to the village I'll give you volume one if your sure" Kakashi said not really caring that the said ninja was only twelve years old and was much too young to be reading Make Out Paradise.

"Great, now I'll get to see why you and Old Man Hokage are so obsessed with this book" He said before leap frogging over Kakashi's shoulders and landing next to Sakura who squealed and punched him on the head lightly.  
"Naruto don't do that" She said before laughing. Naruto smiled at the pink haired girl and then looked back at Sasuke who just gave him an indifferent look before beaming up at Kakashi who eye smiled back at him.

"**KIT HOW ARE YOU HOLDIG UP?" **Kyuubi's voice said in a soothing tone, Naruto grinned mentally and shook his head.

"I'm actually quiet okay, my team has made everything okay" Kyuubi chuckled and nuzzled the young boy through the bars making him laugh. Sasuke watched as Naruto fell silent before a large smile spread across his face. Sometimes the young boy couldn't understand the blonde, at times he was serious and then other times Naruto was the most immature kid he'd ever met.

After taking a boat ride Naruto could taste the water in the air and couldn't help but frown, even if he was in the land of water the air was never that rich in water. Frowning Naruto stopped making the others stop and look at him curiously when suddenly the faint whistling of the wind caught Naruto's attention.

"EVERYONE DOWN" Naruto yelled while tugging Sakura down to the ground when suddenly a huge executioner blade flew pass his head and lodged itself into the tree in front of them. Kakashi looked up and glared as he spotted the ninja that had tried to kill them.

"Zabuza Momichi" Naruto whispered making everyone including Kakashi look at him in surprise. Standing on the handle of the sword was a tall man wearing camouflage pants with a bandage face mask.

"Oh so one of the little brats knows who I am, please tell me more" He said in a mocking tone.

Sakura looked at Naruto in fear as he stood up and looked the man in the eyes "Zabuza Momichi, otherwise known as The Demon of the Mist, you were a former Seven Mist Swordsmen and your blade is known as the head hunter blade or the executioner blade" Naruto said as the others stood up.

Sakura stood on shaking legs as Kakashi stepped forwards, the whole time Zabuza was laughing heartily pointing at Naruto "You know what kid, I like you, you're a smartass, you remind me of Kitsune, he comes from your village doesn't he?"

"Zabuza stop!" Kakashi snarled as Naruto froze and his eyes went wide while Zabuza leapt off his blade and ripped it from its hold in the tree trunk.

"Ah Kakashi Hatake, now I know why the demon brothers failed, with you on the brats team they wouldn't have been able to touch the bridge builder" Zabuza said mockingly as he swung his great sword up onto his shoulder.

"What is he talking about Naruto is the one who killed one of those ninja" Tazuna said in confusion making Sasuke and Kakashi groan while Sakura just glared at the bridge builder. Zabuza looked at Naruto and smirked.

"Well looks like you're not all that innocent, tell me boy did you enjoy the rush of power that flew through your veins as you ended his life" Naruto just stare at Zabuza and froze when Kakashi place a halting hand on his shoulder.

"Zabuza your opponent is me" He said while lifting his headband to reveal a spinning Sharingan making Sasuke gasp in confusion.

"Well revealing your Sharingan to me so early Kakashi Hatake copy cat ninja of Konoha I feel honoured" Zabuza said staring at Kakashi with what looked like anticipation in his eyes before he winked at Naruto "I'll get to you later" Naruto swung to protect Tazuna while the mist started to roll in along with Naruto could feel killer intent, and although it wasn't like Kyuubi's killer intent the pressure it put on even Naruto's will was amazing.

When Naruto saw Sasuke holding a kunai to him Naruto felt his heart almost stop. When suddenly the pressure stopped "Sasuke, I will protect you even at the cost of my life, I won't let you die" Naruto felt his admiration for Kakashi go up when suddenly he felt something behind him.

_Strike behind you _Naruto didn't pause and instead swung his kunai back and was shocked when I came into contact with Zabuza's large blade. Once again his instincts had never failed him.

"Know that's a ninja, you quiet the brat aren't you" The masked man said before kicking Naruto sending him flying "Too bad I gotta kill you, you would have been fun to fight once you grew up" Kakashi stabbed through Zabuza.

"Didn't I say I was your opponent" He growled before Zabuza turned into water "water clone" he said when a kunai stuck through his chest. Sakura held back a scream when suddenly Kakashi turned into water himself.

"What a water clone, how did he" Zabuza said when Kakashi appeared behind him with a Kunai at his back.  
"Game over" Zabuza smirked and pressed himself into the Kunai and turned into water again. Kakashi cursed and turned around in time to get kicked in the chest sending him flying onto the water. When he pulled himself up he was heavy "This isn't normal water: it's heavy" he whispered when suddenly Zabuza appeared in front of him.

"You shouldn't have let your guard down" then before Kakashi could do anything he raced through several hand signs "Water Prison Jut-Su" suddenly Kakashi could only stare as he was swallowed by an orb of hardened water.

When Naruto looked up from the ditch he was laying in he saw Zabuza forming a water clone while he had his left hand in an orb of water. 'Kakashi Sensei" he whispered.

"Now which one of you brats am I going to kill first" The clone said before turning to Sasuke 'I think I'll kill you" Naruto's eyes widened

_Run or he'll die. _All that Sasuke saw was the blade coming towards him and a blur of orange when suddenly Sakura's scream filled the clearing. Sasuke stare in shock with what he was looking at. Zabuza's eyes were wide in shock while Naruto stood in front of him clutching the right side of his face while blood dripped from between his fingers.

"What?" he asked in confusion. Naruto let go of his face and Zabuza was shocked to see even though he had sliced his right eye to shreds the boy still hadn't screamed in pain.

"Sasuke step back" Sasuke was to shocked to do anything but what the blonde said, as soon as he was safely next to Sakura, Naruto launch forward and kicked Zabuza air born where he leapt after he and kicked him to the right and then up again and continued until he did a full circle when Zabuza reached the top of the Circle again, Naruto shot up and did a back flip kick "SPHERE SHOT!" Zabuza's clone exploded in a shower of water the minute it hit the ground and Naruto landed silently while blood streamed from his right eye. Without any warning he grabbed Sasuke's arm making the Uchiha heir look him in the eyes. "Sasuke do you want to beat him"

"Of course" he said gulping as he saw Naruto's completely ruined eye. Naruto nodded "Good I need you to throw me at him" Sasuke gulped and then grabbed Naruto's arm and then swung him around and sent him flying towards Zabuza who looked shocked when suddenly Naruto rammed into him sending the both of them flying across the water. While the water was streaming off him Kakashi stood up and glared at Zabuza who was now holding Naruto by the lapels of his jacket.

"You are an interesting one, you seem like an innocent little boy and yet you fight like a seasoned killer, I really like you, I mean your wound is very severe yet you just shrug it off" The swordsman said grinning as he lifted Naruto up higher to inspect the wound to Naruto's eye a little better.

"ZABUZA LET HIM GO!" Kakashi yelled, Zabuza smirked and hoisted Naruto up so that he was on his back.

"Nah I think I might keep him, he's an interesting little brat" That was when Kakashi saw red and his hands flew through several hand signs "GIANT VORTEX JUT SU" Zabuza was shocked when suddenly he was swept away in a large current of water while Naruto was snatched from his back.

"I'll get you Kakashi" Zabuza said as he was swept through the forest until he was hit by several senbon needles. Kakashi looked up from a spluttering Naruto to the hunter Nin who was standing on a high branch.

"Thank you Leaf Jonin for taking care of Zabuza he had been on my radar for a long time" came the very childish voice from behind the mask making Kakashi frown. "I will be going now" Then with a grace of a panther hunting the hunter Nin picked up Zabuza's body and disappeared.

"Kakashi sensei, Naruto needs help" Sakura said in a panicked voice as she rushed over and saw the blood still pouring from his eye.  
"Is your home far?" Kakashi asked Tazuna as he to saw the severity of Naruto's wound. The bridge builder shook his head and Kakashi sighed and pulled his head band down before pulling Naruto's head band off and tied it around at an angle to put pressure on the wound. "Let's go then"


	5. Pentagram of the Anceint Gods

**Chapter 4: Pentagram of the Ancient Gods**

When Naruto woke up it was to a dark room where Kakashi was sitting next to his bed while Sakura told him who to keep the wound uninfected. After clearing his throat Sakura rushed to his side with a glass of water. As Naruto sipped his water he noticed that his face wasn't bandaged yet. Sakura gave Kakashi a bottle of clear liquid and then grimaced when she looked at Naruto.  
"Look sensei it's gonna hurt a lot more than the original cut so make sure you go easy on him okay?" Sakura said before she left the room and Kakashi sat down next to his student and took out a roll of bandages.

"Can Kyuubi heal it?" he asked in a tired voice "Because if not there is no way any surgery can"

Naruto paused for a seconds and faded into his mindscape "Kyuubi?"

The great fox was curled up and seemed depressed and shook his head **"I'M SORRY KIT, BUT I THINK I HAVE AN IDEA, BUT DON'T TELL YOUR SENSEI JUST YET" **

Kakashi waited patiently for Naruto to come too and when he did he saw Naruto's sad look and sighed "I guess he can't heal it either" he asked

Naruto shook his head "No he says the damage is even too much for him to heal but he said he's not going to stop trying"

Kakashi nodded and then tilted Naruto's head back, "What you did for Sasuke was a brave thing, not many could do it" he said as he unscrew the bottle of alcohol "and then to fight after it, you were amazing yesterday" Naruto bit his bottom lip as Kakashi poured the burning liquid on his eye, as the alcohol burned away any germs in his wound Naruto couldn't help but notice the stinging pain in the back of his now ruined optic.

"Kyu?" he asked in fear

"**FEAR NOT LITTLE ONE EVERYTHING IS FINE I'M JUST BEGINING THE TRANSFOMATION IT WILL TAKETHE REST OF THE DAY" **Naruto gulped and mentally nodding as Kakashi bandaged the right side of his face.

"Well that's the best I can do for now until we get you into the hospital" Kakashi said as he stood up. Naruto nodded and followed his sensei to the door where Sakura and Sasuke were waiting.

"Naruto how are you feeling?" Sakura asked kindly as she saw the blood seeping through the bandages slowly.

"Like I was hit by a ten tonne pole and then thrown through a blender" Naruto said weakly as he bowed his head "Dobe"

Naruto looked up at Sasuke who was standing in front of him with his hand held out "Thanks, you saved my life and Uchiha's honour that, so thanks" Sasuke said once again

Naruto smiled and shook his head slowly "It was my honour, like I said my dream is to protect all my precious people" Sasuke couldn't help but feel embarrassed at what Naruto had just said, how could he be thought of a as a precious person when they hadn't known each other that well.

Kakashi smiled at the group and ushered them downstairs where Tsunami and Tazuna were sitting at the table talking, and when they spotted them Tsunami's face split into a grin "Ah I see the handsome blonde is up and about"

Naruto turned to Sakura who giggled before explaining "apparently we are all perfect specimens Sasuke is the Mysterious handsome brunette you are the vibrant handsome blonde and for some reason I'm the exotic pinkette" Naruto's eyes widened as he watched as Tsunami fussed over Sasuke who just looked at them pleading.

"Ah Tsunami I think Sasuke has his eye on someone in the village" Naruto said as he sat down next the raven who gave him a grateful look before nodding.

Tsunami got a glint in her eyes before she latched onto Sakura who was just taking a bite from her rice "its little Miss Sakura isn't it? Of course it is she gorgeous" Sakura started to choke on her rice and Sasuke's eyes just went wide "The two of you would make a beautiful couple, I mean Naruto you are very handsome but I just think Sasuke would suit your teammate a little better" Naruto hid his smile behind his hand and couldn't help but think that a week ago Sakura would have been in heaven that was until she came and asked him some things.

_Flashback_

_Sasuke stomped off as Sakura walked into the training clearing where he and Naruto had been training before, he wasn't in the mood to deal with the fan girl. But unlike normal Sakura wasn't there to talk to Sasuke she was there to talk to Naruto. _

"_Um Naruto can I ask you something?" Naruto looked up at his teammate and nodded before patting the spot next to him where Sakura sat down and hugged her knees to her chest. "Why does Sasuke hate me?"_

_Naruto sighed and then looked up at the clear sky "Do you remember what he said about his dream?" Sakura nodded and Naruto smiled "Well think about it, if all Sasuke is focused on right now is revenge wouldn't it make sense to be his friend and help him with that goal instead of trying to get him to date you and notice you, one thing I know is that right now Sasuke isn't looking for a relationship, he's looking for comrades he can trust"_

_Sakura nodded and then turned to Naruto he face set in determined "Tell me how I can change" Naruto nodded and took her hand and began explaining what she had to do. _

A week later Sakura had totally changed, she never asked Sasuke for dates, instead she asked for training points that made Sasuke less tense around her, she stopped worrying about him all the time, that made him more calm about being on the team with her and now she hit him on the head if he says disrespectful and hurtful things to anyone he felt like part of the family unit. So now that this woman was dragging up old memories it was quite a shock.

"Ah no worries Tsunami I don't really know what my preference is yet so" Sasuke stared at Naruto for a sec before turning to Sakura who had finally stopped choking and was giving Tsunami a look of disbelief.

"Ah Tsunami you've got it all wrong, I'm Sasuke's friend, and at the moment that's all I want to be, if I become anything else it could endanger the team plus I don't think it would really work" Sasuke breathe a sigh of relief at Sakura's mature answer.

Kakashi couldn't help but almost laugh as Tsunami pouted as Sakura tried to tell her that she and Sasuke were only friends. But when he saw Naruto wincing he couldn't help but feel the guilt as it washed over him. If he hadn't gotten caught in that jut-su then Zabuza wouldn't have gone after Sasuke and then Naruto wouldn't have taken the hit for him and then he wouldn't be sitting here with a useless eye why the demon inside of him tried to figure out a way to heal it.

"You're all idiots"

Naruto looked up and saw a small boy with a hat on glaring at them "What did you say?" he asked a little angrily.

"I said your all idiots, your all going to die because you decided to be brave and go up against Gato, your eye is only the start of your suffering-not that you would know anything about that" the kid said smirking.

Kakashi looked at Naruto nervously and then watched as he stood up and walked out the door purposely knocking into the young boy "Listen you little brat you wouldn't know real suffering if you were placed in the middle of a prison" Inari shrunk back at the fierceness of Naruto's tone "Sasuke I wanna teach you something come on" Sasuke nodded and followed the blonde out of the house and into the forest. "Okay do you remember the Tai-jut-su move I use on Zabuza?" Sasuke nodded and Naruto grinned "well I'm gonna teach it to you"

Sasuke panted as he tried to get the move once again, the attack that he was trying learn was a lot harder then what Naruto made it look, but after three hours of coaching Naruto's wound had acted up and the raven had ordered the blonde to go rest. Now he could hear the soothing music of Naruto's pipe coming from somewhere in the forest where the blonde was now hiding.

"Huh you'd think that he would listen to me" he muttered as he wiped to sweat off his brow.

"If I'm correct you said to rest" Sasuke turned around and saw Sakura standing at the edge of the clearing with a light sheen of sweat on her brow while holding out a bottle of water the him "and he's resting...just not in a bed"

Sasuke grunted and sat down followed by Sakura who sighed and lay back down on the cool grass as she tried to cool of her heated body from training why she saw how tired the raven was. "Training hard?"

"I just don't get it" Sasuke growled "Naruto makes it look so easy but yet I just can't get it" he said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"You're an idiot" Sasuke looked at Sakura as if she had grown another head. "Aren't you supposed to support me or whatever girls your age do?"

Sakura stood up and glared at Sasuke "Listen here, I'm not going to be your little fan girl anymore I'm going to give it to you straight, now I get it your talented, but so is Naruto, and he probably trained for hours to get this technique to the stage it's at and the fact that he is teaching it to you is amazing, now you are an great ninja it's true but your ego and pride get in your way to much if you could just drop them and ask for help every now and again you would become an amazing ninja, but your an Uchiha and unfortunately your all arrogant idiots" She spat before turning around on her heel and stomped off towards the house, while passing Kakashi who looked like he was holding in his laughter.

"Well that was something" Sasuke looked away and just glared at the ground "I mean I never would have thought that the great Sasuke Uchiha would get lectured by one of his old fan girls and by Sakura no less"

"Kakashi Shut Up" Sasuke growled out as he whipped his brow from the sweat. "God why is this so hard"

Kakashi looked at Sasuke and then frowned "Sasuke are you attempting the Sphere Shot?" he asked as he looked at Sasuke's form. Sasuke nodded and Kakashi shook his head "You've got the moves down but you rhythm is all off, think of this move as like Naruto's pipe playing, everything must flow together, you must be like water in a way then you add chakra to each of your moves to make them that much more effective" Kakashi said as he demonstrated how each move should look flowing into each other. Sasuke watched in awe and then nodded and began to imagine Naruto's music and began to move with it.

Elsewhere in the forest Naruto gripped the tree branch he was sitting on tightly as another wave of pain hit him for the last hour the pain from his eye had began to radiate out to other parts of his body, like his chakra pathways and his brain making the pain nearly unbearable. Twice now Naruto had to stop himself from crying out in pain when a really painful strike hit him."Kyu what are you doing"

"**SORRY KIT, BUT IT'S ALMOST OVER, AND WHEN IT IS I PROMISE YOUR GONNA SLEEP FOR A FEW HOURS" **Kyuubi said in a worried tone. Not even in the most dire battle had Kyuubi ever truly pumped as much chakra into the young boy as he was now to create a new eye for him.

Kakashi stood at the window looking out at the forest through the window, dusk had finally settled on the land of waves and the silver haired ninja hadn't seen his blonde haired charge since that morning and it was beginning to make him nervous. Naruto was injured and had walked off and gotten lost in the forest which was even worse.

"Kakashi I'm sure young Naruto is fine, he always is" Tsunami said as she gave him a cup of tea "Naruto seems like a survivor, he'll be fine" Kakashi nodded and then looked at Sakura who was glancing around nervously why Sasuke kept shifting on the spot which was very abnormal for the Uchiha heir.

Suddenly a pained scream tore through the night and in mere seconds Sasuke was on his feet and at the window next to Kakashi with Sakura only a step behind. "That was Naruto" she whispered.

Kakashi looked down at Sasuke and shook his head "I'll go get him, you and Sakura stay here and get his bed ready, I don't know what's is going to be wrong with him but I can tell that it's not going to be good" Sakura nodded and then pressed a bottle of green liquid in his hand.

"It will help bring down fevers" Kakashi nodded and jumped out the window _if Naruto screamed that loudly then it must be bad_

As Kakashi rushed through the forest he saw drops of blood everywhere, and as he spotted these small drops he couldn't help but get worried and more urgent to find the boy. When he entered the clearing he had to stop a sob from escaping his throat, Naruto looked dead. He had blood dribbling out of his one uncovered eye, his ears and even his mouth, his hands had what looked like several needle wounds and his gaze was lifeless, but when he bent down next to Naruto and checked his pulse he was relieved to find a light but steady beat against his fingers.

"Don't worry Naruto you're going to survive" he mumbled as he hoisted the boy up into his arms.

Naruto opened his eyes and found himself in a dark room with only a faint purple light surrounding him on the floor in a circle. The last thing the blonde haired boy could remember was the immense pain of the final change Kyuubi had done to his body and then darkness.

"So the kid has finally come to see us, about time" a deep growling voice said and suddenly the purple light pulsed outwards and the floor became engraved but the purple light like a lazar in the form of a six pointed pentagram.

"Who's there?" he asked. A loud chuckle filled the room and suddenly a gust of wind blew from behind him and when he whipped around his jaw dropped when he saw Valor hovering above one of the points of the pentagram.

"Fear not little one, it's only me" The great bird said it's voice calm and smooth like a gentle breeze. When Naruto looked into the mask that encased the birds face he was shocked to find two bright golden glowing eyes.

"Valor, god of wind" Naruto whispered as he stared at the divine entity he had been praying to for the last few years.

"My when you said he was strong I didn't think he would be able to gain entrance to here" a beautiful bell like voice said making Naruto feel happy, and when he looked over to the next point of the pentagram he was shocked to see a large beautiful green armour wearing seal lying all curled up.

"Who are you" Naruto asked in an awe voice as he saw how long the seal's tail was. "You're not like any of the gods I pray to"

The seal laughed and nodded and drew herself up "I am Magna, Goddess of Water, and the reason that I'm not a god you pray to because your temple isn't a place that I can go" she said sounding a little bitter about that.

"Oh Magna give it a rest just because you were rejected by the fourth's spirit" said a wise voice. Naruto spun around and saw Rai stepping onto the point opposite Magna. Naruto had always thought that the horse was impressive but now that he was staring at the god up close Naruto couldn't help but admire the great beast. "Hello young one"

Naruto gulped and nodded when a loud snorting filled the air, "So this is the young sender who has gained your approval eh Rai?" Naruto couldn't help but gulp, if he thought Rai's voice sounded old and wise then the voice that had just spoken sounded ancient.

"Correct, brother" Naruto couldn't hold back his gasp when a dark forest green stag with large antlers stepped out of the darkness and to the spot next to the thunder horse.

"Hello Naruto Uzumaki, I am Arabi, the god of earth" Naruto nodded and bowed to the great god and took the time to inspect the god further, at first glance the stag didn't look like anything special but now that Naruto looked at him closer he saw that the deer had bright mist green orbs perched on each end of his antlers and his tail was longer and had a spiked tip on the end of it.

"Ah stop being such a stuffy old guy Arabi" said a joking almost childlike voice. The great deer seemed to sigh and looked over to the other side of Valor, when Naruto turned around a bright flaming ball leapt down next to the bird of wind, and Naruto immediately knew who the next god was.

"Inferno, enough" Valor said in a patient voice, and suddenly the flames disappeared and Naruto was starring at the horned wolf that was Inferno, but unlike his statue, Inferno's paws were surrounded in fire and he had a black marking all over his body.

"Well it's about time you got here we've been waitin" The wolf said in good humour and Naruto couldn't help but smile.

"Naruto this is Inferno, if you can't tell...he's the youngest of us" Rai said mirth in his voice. Inferno puffed his chest up and the flames around his paws flared up a little which made Naruto hold back a giggle.

"So the young sender has finally arrived" a deep voice said from the darkness, and Naruto couldn't help but notice that the air had gotten really cold suddenly. "There is no need to fear Naruto I will not hurt you" Naruto turned around and saw Fennier step out of the darkness, his chains broken off at the ankles and his orb floating between his wings.

Overwhelmed by the sight of all six god Naruto turned in a full circle and then sat down on the ground which was still shining purple.

"Where am I and how did you guys get here" he asked weakly as he stared at each god closely, it wasn't that he wasn't grateful to meet the gods, it was just he had no idea how they were in front of him.

"We are in your soul little one, and we are here because you let us be" Naruto looked at Rai who was gazing at him kindly before hanging his head.

"Kyuubi reached out to us and told us about your eye and we thought it was about time you gained your sending powers" Magna said in the same kind voice that Rai had just used.

"But I'm not a sender" Naruto protested weakly.

Fennier's booming laughter filled the room "we know that young one, which is why we have decided to grant you a different wish, thanks to Kyuubi's help we have decided to give you your own bloodline" Naruto looked up at the dragon in shock.

"But this power is not to be used lightly" Arabi said in a stern voice "You will have great power because of it"

"Like what"

"The power over the ancient jut-su's" Naruto looked at Valor in confusion "back when senders and ninja's lived in harmony together they created what is now known as ancient chakra, it is something only ninja dealing in the sending arts could be granted, it allowed them to access great and powerful jut-su and we are giving this to you"

"Although it doesn't stop there, you will also have the gift of knowledge" Naruto looked at Magna who was starring down at him judgingly "Once activated you will have the ability to see into your victims past and see everything from the beginning of their live to the moment you looked into their eyes" Naruto nodded and then took a breath.

"So basically I get all this power and knowledge-what's the catch" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Nightmares" Inferno said in a sad voice, "when you use the knowledge power you gain every memory they did which means that your mind has to store them somewhere and all of that comes to the forefront of your mind when you're sleeping" the flaming wolf said being serious for the first time since Naruto had met him.

"Also once you've chosen an ancient pathway in a battle you can't swap, it is the only way from overloading your chakra pathways. You have access to all six different elements but you can only use one" Naruto nodded as Arabi explained the power of his new bloodline to him.

"That is all young one" Rai said in a calm voice "we will not appear before you again, this was a onetime deal, the rest you must ask Kyuubi, may you live a long life" Naruto watched as each god slowly disappeared from view until he was standing on the glowing purple pentagram alone.

"**KIT IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP"**

Naruto's eye flew open and suddenly a huge wave of pain flew through his whole body and the blonde was so shocked he was unable to hold back the cry of pain that escaped his throat. But suddenly Sakura was by his side.

"Naruto please stay down" you been unconscious for the better part of a day" Naruto looked at her like she had grown an extra head and then pushed himself up into a sitting position which made Sakura give him a death glare that would make even Zabuza shake.

"Sakura I'm fine just a little sore" Naruto said as he looked her in the eyes begging her to calm down and to stop mothering him.

"Really" both genin looked up to see Kakashi standing in the doorway with Sasuke next to him. "Because when I found you I thought you were dead" Naruto looked down and Kakashi sighed.

"Sasuke take Sakura to get something to eat, she needs a rest" Sasuke nodded and pulled Sakura from Naruto's side and then down towards the kitchen where Tsunami was waiting for them. "So you want to explain what happened out there today?"

Naruto shook his head and then touch his bandage and winced "Not really" he whispered. Kakashi walked over to him and ripped his bandages off making Naruto gasp and grab to cover his eye up only to be halted by Kakashi.

When Kakashi saw Naruto's new eye he picked the blonde up and threw him in front of the bathroom mirror where Naruto was able to see his new eye, "Want to explain that?" Naruto gulped when he glanced at his new eye. The colour was the same deep blue but unlike his left eye the pupil in his right eye had now formed the shape of a six pointed pentagon where the points touched the edges of the irises.

"It's my new eye" he whispered as he touched the still bleeding wound which made the new eye look even freakier.

Kakashi spun Naruto around and looked him in the eyes "you will explain this to me do you understand" Naruto nodded and Kakashi walked out of the bathroom followed slowly by Naruto.

"It was Kyuubi, he couldn't heal my eye, but he was able to create me a new eye for me" he whispered as he brought his hand up to his eye once again. Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through his hair before nodding.

"Okay but I think you should hide it until the wound heals, it's still a bit fresh and well, I makes your new eye look kind of scary" the silver haired Jonin said chuckling a little as he said this.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and nodded. Kakashi nodded before leaving the room to give Naruto a little privacy to get dressed, when he was finished Naruto stared at himself in the mirror and he frowned when he couldn't figure out how to cover his eye without using bandages.

"Kyu any ideas" he asked in a perplexed voice.

"**HOW ABOUT YOU COPY THE COPY CAT NINJA?" **Kyuubi said with a mirth filled voice and Naruto grinned before tying his headband on and then pulled it down across his right eye. When he looked at himself in the mirror he couldn't help but grin: Kakashi was going to flip.

Naruto was right about Kakashi flipping out when he saw Naruto's method at hiding his eye, when he walked down into the kitchen Kakashi had froze and fallen off his chair and Sakura had to hold back her giggles why Sasuke just smirked. When asked why he was wearing his headband like that Naruto just grinned and said "I just want to follow in your footsteps sensei" this made Sakura burst out into laughter and Kakashi just gave him a deadpanned look before clearing his throat and explaining to the others the real reason why he was wearing his headband the way he was-a lie to them of course.  
"Naruto's eye has healed over but the scarring is still pretty bad and there is the big chance that it could get infected so I told him to cover his eye up, I just didn't think he'd do this" Kakashi said in a firm voice that told him that it wasn't funny. Naruto shrugged and the laced his hands behind his head. "Now onto serious matters, I think Zabuza is still alive"

Naruto froze and they looked up at his sensei "what do you mean"

Kakashi gave Naruto a disappointed glance and then sighed "Think about it, the weapons the masked Nin used were senbon needles normally used for medical Nin jut-su or acupuncture, not normally used as a weapon, and why a hunter ninja knows every vital point in the body, they also don't need the whole body"

"They only need the head" Naruto finished off gloomily, he had run into many a Konoha hunter Nin on his ANBU missions; they idolized him and would never pass up the chance to go on missions with him so he knew how they worked.

Kakashi nodded and then sighed "but that hunter Nin took his whole body, it's just not adding up"

"Couldn't he have been taking the body away to take the head" Sakura asked and was then stopped by Naruto, who was shaking his head,

"No you see a hunter Nin doesn't have that liability, they don't care about on-lookers, they have a job and they do it, they don't care who sees and a mist hunter nin who was chasing after Zabuza wouldn't give a rat's ass about four Konoha ninja" he said in a calm tone.

Kakashi nodded and then ran a hand through his hair "Which can only mean that Zabuza is still alive" Naruto sighed and got up and walked to the door "I'm gonna start training then, if Zabuza thought I was good before then he's gonna be amazed by the time I'm through with him" Sasuke smirked and then nodded and followed Naruto out the door followed closely by Sakura who just grinned at the small family. Kakashi smiled as he watched his team walk out together, _this team is going to be legendary sensei I can already see it_.


	6. Demon Of the Mist and Demon of the Leaf

**Chapter 5-Deamon of the mist, Demon of the leaf, an unspeakable bond **

A week after arriving in the land of waves Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura set off to guard Tazuna while Naruto was missing somewhere in the forest. The fact that Naruto was missing had made the whole team quite depressed but unfortunately Naruto hadn't been seen since he had gone out to train five days earlier. So one member short the team set out to the bridge.

"Sensei do you think Naruto is alright?" Sakura asked "I mean he just recovered and then he goes off on a training binge that can't be healthy"

Kakashi nodded 'I feel the same way but I'm afraid that I can't do anything to stop him, Naruto is going to be who Naruto is" Kakashi said in a tired voice "But sometimes I'm afraid that he's going to push himself too far and he won't be able to bounce back from it"

Sasuke just grunted in agreement but then tuned the group out.

Naruto sighed as he picked himself off the ground and then noticed that his team's chakra signatures were getting further and further away, it was then that it hit him that the team must be going to the bridge that day which meant there was a big chance that Zabuza would be at the bridge that day.

"I guess I should go see them I mean I haven't seen them in the last five days" Naruto muttered as he leapt into the trees and started racing off towards the bridge when the scent of blood caught his attention.

"**KIT I WOULD GO CHECK IT OUT" ** Naruto nodded and then began moving towards the source of the familiar scent and when he got to the corpse Naruto was horrified to see the dead carcass of a wild boar cut up with its blood spilling on the ground. Naruto turned his head away and that's when he caught sight of the wreckage all around him and as he followed the trail he noticed it going in the direction of Tsunami's house.

"This isn't good" Naruto said as he raced off towards the tiny little house in the middle of the forest. The fact that there was so much destruction told him that the man or men who made the destruction were in it for the cheap thrill of killing others.

When he arrived at the house he saw two men standing on the boardwalk with Tsunami tied up at their feet and a terrified Inari lying on the ground with one of the men's swords directed at his throat. Naruto growled and then shot forwards and grabbed the arm of the man holding the sword at Inari and with a quick twist he broke the man's wrist causing him to scream out in pain.

"You really shouldn't have come here" he growled before kicking him in the knee breaking it and then threw him on the ground before standing in front of Inari "Inari I want you to go to your mom and cover both your eyes okay" the small boy looked at Naruto in awe before nodding and rushing to his mother's side and covering both their eyes with his hands.

The two samurai smirked at Naruto and the one still able to walk rushed towards him with this blade poise to attack when suddenly Naruto caught the blade and glared at him with killer intent, "Your gonna die" he growled out before smashing his fist through the guys face and out the other side. As his companion's blood dribbled into the water underneath the boardwalk the already wounded swordsmen gasped and stared at Naruto who just pushed the larger man's body of him and then glared at him. "You picked on the wrong family" the blonde said before snapping the man's neck.

Taking in a deep breath Naruto moved the bodies away and then touched Inari on the shoulder "it's okay Inari you can look now" the small boy looked over at Naruto and then started to cry only for Naruto to wipe the tears away "Hey what you did for your mom was really brave and I think your dad would be really proud" Naruto said before looking at Tsunami "make sure no one goes to the bridge I have a feeling you're not going to want anyone to see what's gonna happen there" the woman nodded as Naruto cut her bindings and then gulped as the blonde jumped off.

"**KIT ARE YOU SURE THAT WAS A WISE THING TO DO, THEY WERE THERE WHEN YOU KILLED THEM, WHAT IF HE HAD BEEN PEEKING?" **Kyuubi said in a worried voice. Naruto shook his head and then closed his eyes and entered into his ANBU form and shot forward with the speed that six years of ANBU had acquired him.

"I don't have time to worry about that" Naruto gritted out as he flew through the forest when suddenly the scent of water in the air made him groan 'great my instincts couldn't be wrong for once"

"**KIT IF I'M CORRECT THOSE INSTINCTS HAD SAVED YOUR LIFE MORE TIMES THEN I COULD COUNT" **The great demon fox said chuckling, making Naruto roll his eyes

"Kyu do you think I can win?" Naruto asked gulping a little as he asked "because that Zabuza guy as really strong I mean even after I tackled him he was still able to grab me and hold me like I was a feather"

"**I WILL NEVER LIE TO YOU LITTLE ONE, BUT THIS TIME I DON'T THINK YOU WANT TO HERE MY ANSWER" **Kyuubi said sadly and then fell silent why Naruto just inwardly groaned.

"Great what am I gonna do" he thought as he leapt onto the misty bridge.

But when he looked around he was shocked to see a large dome of what looked like mirrors and Kakashi and Zabuza facing off against each other. Gulping Naruto jumped onto the top of the mirrors and was shocked to find that the mirror was freezing and seemed to be made out of ice.

"What" he whispered and then shook his head. "I can't fault their lives are in danger" he said before bringing his fist down to smash the mirror, but just before his fist connected a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward. Naruto didn't see anything and only felt cold when suddenly he hit solid ground.

"Naruto?" He looked up at the sound of his name and saw Sasuke. Although the raven looked a little worse for wear, his clothes were torn and he a lot of scratches covering his body although none of them looked fatal. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was about to smash the mirror on the top when suddenly a hand grabbed me and pulled me, next thing I know I'm inside this ice dome with you" the blonde growled rubbing his head as he looked around. Sasuke cursed and stood up.

"Okay well here is the situation, this guy" he said pointing to the figure standing inside the mirror "is using some sort of bloodline jut-su to trap us in this ice mirror jut-su, and it's like he transports himself from mirror to mirror and then hits us with needles from every direction"

Naruto looked around and nodded before gathering up all his chakra "Shadow clone jut-su" Sasuke looked at him in disbelief as ten Naruto's appeared in front of him and jumped to each mirror. "Sasuke I need you to watch" The raven nodded and then watched as each of the clones exploded in a puff of smoke. "Did you get that?" Sasuke shook his head and Naruto created another ten Naruto clones "Then I'll just keep fighting until you do"

Kakashi looked around in fear when suddenly he saw Zabuza standing in front of him with his eyes closed smirking "Tell me Kakashi, that boy how is he fairing?" Kakashi glared at the sword wielder "because Haku did some checking, he fits the description of the demon fox jailor form Konoha"

Kakashi sucked in a deep breath and brandished a kunai "That is an S-classed level secret no one but the ninja of the leaf ninja should know about it" he spat making Zabuza laugh loudly.

"Oh Kakashi you have a lot to learn, your jailor is one of the most known targets for rouge ninja, he's not in the bingo books but he is like a urban legend: a child with the great Kyuubi no Kitsune held within his body, I'll tell you one thing if trained right and handled with care, that boy...he could become the strongest shinobi to grace the five great ninja lands" Zabuza said before disappearing. "When you're dead and gone I'll erase the boys memory and take him in as my own, don't worry I'll treat him right"

Kakashi froze and began to think, "Okay so I can see or hear him, wow it's been a while since I've had to fight someone this strong, think Naruto and Sasuke are depending on me, where will Zabuza strike" Kakashi closed his eyes and then cleared his mind when suddenly the answer hit him "The bridge builder!" he said before rushing off.

Naruto's breath started coming in pants as he stared at the mirrors, not one of his attacks had gotten through so far but from what he could tell Sasuke's timing was getting better if the singed mark on the masked Nin clothes were anything to go by. "How close" he asked standing up straighter.

"Real close I think I'll get him next time" Sasuke said before taking in a deep breath and standing up straight himself. The masked Nin pulled up a senbon and the mirrors lit up brightly and suddenly several senbon embedded themselves in their bodies.

"You have dragged this fight out to long I must put a stop to it now" the ninja said in a cold voice, Naruto who was still weak from his last battle closed his eyes and welcomed the darkness in which Kyuubi began slowly healing his wounds as the blonde prepared to fight.

Sasuke stared at Naruto's limp form and then rushed over to him and started shaking him.  
"Come on Naruto this isn't funny, get up" Naruto groaned and he smiled when he looked into Sasuke's eyes.

"I thought so" Sasuke looked at Naruto like he had grown another head and then touched his forehead once "You've unlocked the Sharingan, not completely but still" Sasuke's eyes widened and Naruto chuckled as he sat up when suddenly a needle shower rained down upon them and Sasuke threw his body on top of Naruto's. "Sasuke?"

"I owed you remember" Sasuke croaked out as blood dribbled down his body "I couldn't die without repaying you for saving my life earlier" Naruto laid Sasuke on the ground and almost cried when he saw all the senbon sticking out of the other teens body. "Naruto, my brother" Naruto looked up and grabbed Sasuke's hand which was becoming freezing very fast "I need you to kill him for me, s-seeing a-as I c-can't anymore" Sasuke said before his eyes closed and the hand Naruto was holding went limp.

"Sasuke?" Naruto shook Sasuke's body and a tear spilled over when no answer came "Sasuke, I'll do it" he whispered hugging the body to his chest.

"Is this the first time you've seen a comrade die in battle" Naruto froze when the masked Nin spoke and he felt his anger grow, no this wasn't the first time he had seen a comrade died, but this time it was harder to swallow. "He died protecting you, it's an honourable death"

"Kyu I think it's time" Naruto said to the demon as he stood before the giant cage where Kyuubi laid. The giant fox nodded and suddenly a red aura slipped through the bars of the cage and then enveloped Naruto's body.

"**USE IT WELL YOUNG KIT, USE IT WELL" **

Naruto opened his eyes and pushed his head band up as he felt Kyuubi's demonic chakra flood his system, **"Shut your mouth" **The masked Nin was taken aback by the pure ferocity in the boy's voice when suddenly the boy began to smoke and all his wounds began to heal. The ninja watched in fear as bright red chakra twirled around the boy until it formed a large beast form in the sky. **"I'm gonna kill you" **Naruto snarled in a deep beastly voice as he spun to face his opponent.

Haku was horrified to fond the bright boy he had been fighting before was all gone; the thing in its place now was a beast in a boy's body. The boy's scar like whisker marks had deepened and darkened making them more noticeable, his once cerulean blue eyes were now a deep blood crimson colour, while his pupils had become animal slits. But in his right eye was a six pointing pentagon with the slit in the middle, the boy's canines had elongated and his killer intent had spiked to huge levels. "What are you" he whispered.

Naruto rushed towards the mirror where Haku resides and then stopped when he noticed that the masked Nin had disappeared and then roared letting loose a large wave of chakra. Zabuza paused and looked at Kakashi who was now sporting a large chest wound and then at the dome of ice before laughing "Well I gotta give you props for training him to use it" he said before disappearing into the mist.

Sakura looked at Kakashi in confusion and then looked at the wound her teacher was sporting and bit her lip in fear "Sensei?" Kakashi shook his head and looked in the direction of the ice dome.

"_The seal, it's not broken, Naruto and Kyuubi have been talking for years, but never have I felt him draw upon this power not once, it feels as if the fox is right here, I'll have to talk to Naruto later but right now_" Kakashi tore his eyes form the ice dome and then glared at the spot where Zabuza used to be. "Zabuza, you were right when you told me earlier that this battle is almost over, because it's gonna end right now"

Naruto let loose another wave of chakra as several needles flew at him making them break away into nothing. Haku grit his teeth and jumped towards the boy only to have his wrist grabbed by the demonic boy and have him punch him right through one of the mirrors making it turn into shards. As the other mirrors fell Naruto charged forward and pulled out his curved kunai and stabbed the boy straight through the stomach and out the back of his spine. Haku stilled in shock and then looked down and saw the stab wound and then smiled weakly as his mask crumbled.

"Thank you" Naruto's red eyes looked up in shock and suddenly all the young boy's memories flooded into him "You have finally proven that even a weapon such as I can be broken" Naruto was about to rip his kunai from the dying boy's body when he grabbed his wrist in a vice like grip, "I'm begging you, help Zabuza show him the light, heal him" Naruto looked into the boy's pleading eyes and nodded, then with a smile Haku slumped onto him. Carefully Naruto pulled his kunai from the boy's body before pocketing it and laying the boy's cold body on the ground.

Suddenly Naruto felt a surge of chakra enter the air and shot off like a rocket, not even bothering to give Sakura a glance Naruto continued to rush forward and then saw Kakashi holding what looked like lightning in his hand while large Nin dogs held down Zabuza.

"**No" **he snarled and then shot forward and jumped in front of the bandaged ninja as Kakashi struck.

Kakashi stared in horror as Naruto gripped his wrist that was embedded in his shoulder and coughed up blood his pentagram eye spinning slowly. "Naruto why did, I could have killed you"

Zabuza stared at the brat in shock, why the brat had protected him was beyond him but seeing as he was free from Haku's jut-su and alive meant only one thing-this brat had killed Haku.

"**Because I promised to heal and protect Zabuza" **Zabuza looked at Naruto in shock and then leant against the genin as tears escaped his eyes.

"Haku, he, died" he cried against the young genin's shoulder, Naruto nodded and then pulled Kakashi's hand out of his shoulder and then turned around to face the man his features softening as Kyuubi's chakra receded from his body.

"Yes, but not before he showed me what you meant him" Zabuza looked up sharply and Naruto tapped the skin near his new eye "My new eye it allows me to see and feel everything that has happened in my opponent s life if I look them in the eyes, and I saw everything" Zabuza looked down and Naruto nudged him lightly "You were like the father Haku always wanted" Kakashi dispelled his nin hounds and then watched as Zabuza wrapped Naruto up in a large hug.

"Well what do you know, the great demon of the mist is a big softie" Zabuza froze and looked over his shoulder and saw Gato surrounded by thugs on either side "Good thing I came prepared" Zabuza growled and hefted his large sword back onto his shoulder and then looked at Naruto.

"If I manage to survive this I'll come back to the leaf village with you" he said with a cocky grin before looking over at the rows and rows of men with large swords, "Will you join me"

Naruto nodded and brought out the curved kunai that was still stained with Haku's blood before looking back at Kakashi, "will you go get Sasuke's...body, Sakura should pay her respects" Kakashi's eyes became full of sorrow and he stepped back and raced into the fog, leaving Naruto and Zabuza alone to fight.

Gato smirked and motioned for the thugs to charge. Naruto poured all his killer intent out and glared at the thugs making them shake slightly, while Zabuza sneered "Please I'm the demon of the mist, you think I'll let you kill me that easy"

"Yeah well I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the demon of the leaf" he said mockingly before the two grinned at each other and raced forward into the fray.

Sasuke looked around and all he saw was darkness, he was alone he was supposed to be alone, no one was going to care for him he was Sasuke Uchiha, no one wanted to take him in, he was allowed to live alone, but he had friends now, he had Naruto, who made him feel like he was someone of importance, someone precious, Kakashi who was like the uncle he never had, and Sakura who was the person who he was able to talk to about his problems and be able to have a intelligent response, she was the only person to really change and the only person to have yelled at him since the massacre all those years ago. He couldn't die and leave all those people behind, but at the same time, death was so peaceful, he had no troubles in death, nothing bothered him, all his hate was gone.

"Sasuke, your really gone" the raven stilled as he heard the soft voice float through his ears, "I only wished that you could have watched me become a great ninja and I could have watched you" There was only one person that voice could belong to-Sakura. He couldn't die he had too many things to do: he had to watch the others become impressive ninja and had to kill his brother, he couldn't leave that to someone like Naruto he'd end up dying or screwing it up.

"Please Sasuke don't go" when something warm and wet his face Sasuke slowly pulled himself towards the feeling and suddenly he could feel his body and when he opened his eyes he saw Sakura sitting next to him holding his hand, as she stared at his face.

"It's okay Sakura I don't plan on dying anytime soon" he said in a calm voice that was still a bit hoarse from his encounter with death.

"Sensei Sasuke's alive" she yelled out happily before smiling at the raven making him give a small smile right back. Kakashi walked over to Sasuke and helped him stand up. When Sasuke looked up he saw Zabuza leaning on Naruto walking towards him.

"What is he doing" he asked his sensei who scratched his head

"Somehow Naruto managed to talk Zabuza into joining the leaf village after killing that masked ninja" Sasuke looked at where Zabuza and Naruto were arguing about body counts and couldn't help but chuckle. Naruto was standing face to face with Zabuza with his orange jacket in tatters, his black shirt covered in slashed and his pants in ribbons and he was arguing with the missing Nin like he had just woken up and was in perfect health.

"Naruto, Sasuke's alive" Sakura called out, Naruto turned and saw him and his face split into a bright smile and he waved frantically, but when Sasuke saw what his hand looked like he was slightly disgusted, the blondes hand was covered in blood but it seemed that the blonde had killed the masked nin for him when he was supposedly killed.

"Brat I wasn't finished" Zabuza growled as he punched the blonde in the head making the blonde turn to him and start yelling at him again.

Sakura laughed a little and Sasuke looked her strangely, what was so funny about the two of them fighting "well those two are going to be a handful aren't they" Kakashi nodded as they heard the conversation the two of them were having.

"You idiot you are aware your heavy right! Why the hell did you let his get you in the thigh are you mentally insane, your suppose to be the demon of the mist yet you can't dodge a simple thug attack" Naruto snapped as he helped carry the sword wielding ninja to where they were waiting.

"Yeah shut up kid, you're just lucky I'm hurt right now or else I'd hit you so hard right now" he threatened as they all walked back to the village as it started to snow. "Haku, he's crying" Zabuza whispered and then looked down at Naruto who looked up at him.

"I'll take you to him" Zabuza nodded and Naruto lead the wounded ninja to the still body on the ground that was surrounded by a pool of blood. When they reached him Zabuza looked at Kakashi who nodded and picked the boy up and they all walked towards the village together.

"I still beat you brat"

"YOU DID NOT!"

Sakura laughed again and looked at Sasuke and shrugged while Kakashi looked on with amusement _So the demon of the mist bonded with the demon of the leaf-although Zabuza would never say that he likes Naruto in any way, it's still a bond_ The silver haired ninja thought laughing as the two of them got into another argument about how Zabuza had managed to get injured in such an easy battle.

"Sensei, I don't think the village is ever really going to be the same once Zabuza joins: do you?" Sakura said her voice full of amusement as Naruto hit the mist ninja in the side of the head and began cursing him.

"It'll defiantly be louder with those two always arguing like that" Sasuke said as he limped with them, "and as if it wasn't noisy enough with just Naruto there, now we have someone who argues just as loud as him" the raven groaned.

Kakashi laughed and scratched the back of his head "Funny how Zabuza is known for his mastery of the silent killing art isn't"

Sakura just laughed again while Naruto hit Zabuza again "STOP MOVING YOU FUCKING IDOT YOU'LL DO MORE DAMAGE, THEN I'LL HAVE TO CARRY YOUR BLOODY USELESS ASS BACK TO THE VILLAGE!" Naruto screamed as Zabuza tried to put weight on his injured leg.

"SHUT UP YOU DAMN BRAT!"


	7. I'm a Protector, and I will Protect You

**Chapter 6- I am not a ninja, I am a Protector, I will protect you**

The council stared at Zabuza who was standing at attention in front of them, he had recently come in with Kakashi's group and had pledged himself to the leaf village and was now being interrogated, although Naruto was present as one of the Konoha representatives that are for Zabuza joining the village. The head of the Hyuga clan Harashi glared at the mist Nin and then rest his chin on his folded hands.

"Zabuza Momichi, why do you want to join the leaf village, you are a rouge ninja are you not" the Hyuga head said in a cold and analgising voice. Zabuza looked over at Naruto who merely nodded and then looked at the council heads and steeled himself.

"I wished to join your village because I'm tired of being a rouge ninja, I miss the honour I had as being a respected Jonin in the mist, but I know that I can never go back to the mist village, I wanted to start afresh and when I watched the young genin from Kakashi Hatake's squad take on my own disciple who is now deceased I was in awe at their skill, and as I fought against Kakashi himself I couldn't help but think about what a village this is, before my disciple was killed he and I had discussed approaching this village for asylum if we survived, I am merely fulfilling the promise I made to my dead comrade" Zabuza said in an unwavering voice.

Shikaku, the head of the Nara clan stared at Zabuza before nodding once "I trust him, plus we've already heard that Kakashi trusts him and if the Copy Cat ninja trust him so do I" the lazy ninja said shrugging.

Inochi the head of the Yakamara clan nodded and leant back "I find no faults in his mind nor in his body posture which would tell us he is lying, I agree with Shikaku, plus we need more Jonin in the active field, our village should be honoured a former mist swordsmen has approached us for help" The Akamichi clan head merely nodded.

Tsume and Kodamaru from the Inuzuka clan looked at Zabuza with fierce eyes before the large wolf sat back and made a huffing sound and Tsume laughed out loud "I like you, you and I must drink together we shall swap stories" Zabuza smirked and nodded before turning to the Hyuga head again.

Harashi looked at Zabuza before turning his sharp eyes on Naruto who looked back unblinkingly "I would like to hear from Naruto Uzumaki" Zabuza gulped as he stood at attention while Naruto came to stand next to him.

"Yes Lord Hyuga" Naruto asked with a tone that almost sent Tsume, Shikaku, Inochi and Chouza into fits of laughter. Harashi glared at Naruto and then cleared his throat.

"What do you think of Zabuza?"

Naruto sighed and looked at the mist Nin "He is my comrade" everyone in the council including the Hokage all gasped "I have fought side by side with this man, I have taken a fatal attack for him, he bled by my side, and after I killed his disciple he pledge himself to follow me to the leaf village." The council elders looked at each and gave a tiny nod "If it is someone to take responsibility for this man, then let it be me, if he betrays the leaf village and harms the villagers, let it be my fault, for it is my influence that brought him here, but if you believe that he is a bad man, then you are mistaken, I would gladly give my life for him"

The Hokage smiled and then looked at the other members of the council who all nodded "Shall we put it to a vote"

Tsume banged the table with her fist and pointed at Naruto "If I wasn't sold before the little brat sold it for me I say hell yeah" Naruto laughed at Tsume and smiled largely at the Inuzuka leader.

Shinon Aburame fixed his sunglasses and then nodded once "I agree" Zabuza looked at Naruto in confusion who just shrugged as if to say that it was normal behaviour for an Aburame.

Harashi shook his head "I say no, it's too much of a risk even if we put all our faith in...This boy" Zabuza became tense and Naruto shook his head.

"I say yes" Shikaku said smiling lazily at the blonde "not only do I trust Zabuza but my son tells me Naruto here has pretty good judgement himself so that makes me even more sold" he said before yawning.

Chouza merely nodded and Inochi grinned and smile "Like I said we need more talented Jonin, we need you to set the bar Zabuza" The Hokage smiled and nodded.

"Very well Zabuza Momichi I hereby grant you full Jonin status of the leaf village, and citizenship here, may you serve our village well" Zabuza nodded and then took of his mist headband and replaced it with the leaf headband. "Now Naruto if you could please wait outside, now that Zabuza is a Jonin he is entitled to secrets of this village that you are not" Naruto bowed and walked out and waited out the door for Zabuza patiently.

Tsume walked out the door with Kodamaru and the smiled at Naruto before thumping him on the back "Good show kid, if you ever want a warm bed just come to the Inuzuka compound they'll be a spot open" Naruto just stared at the Inuzuka leader and nodded once. Tsume smiled and then bounded off with her ever faithful wolf by her side.

A few moments later Zabuza walked out and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder "Come on brat lets go" Naruto nodded and then began to walk towards the temple when Zabuza stopped him. "Where are we going?"

Naruto scratched his head and laughed a little "well I'm going to the temple of the fourth; I'm overdue for a sending" Zabuza laughed and then slung an arm around the younger boy's shoulders.

"Okay kid, lead the way" Naruto burst out laughing and the nodded.

Kiba groaned as he lay on his bed after his training with his Jonin sensei, there was one thing Inuzuka's like and that was a strong leader, and Kiba would vouch for Kurenai sensei any day, it was well known that the Inuzuka's had really good stamina but even Kurenai's workouts tired the young dog handler out. Kiba was tired, worn out and ready just to lie in bed for the rest of the day...but it seemed life had other plans.

"KIBA GET DOWN HERE" The young Inuzuka groaned but then rolled off his bed and padded downstairs while grumbling that Akamaru was lucky that all he had to do was sleep happily in his little doggy bed.

Kiba got down to the kitchen and saw his mother standing in front of him with a big smile on her face, the one smile that he was deadly afraid of. "Mom...What is it?"

The Inuzuka matriarch smiled even bigger and grabbed her son's arm and began walking to the door, "It's about time you started praying at the temple" she said as Kodamaru pushed Kiba from behind.

Kiba looked at his mother like she was crazy "What do you mean?" he asked in a slightly annoyed voice "You don't pray so why should I"

Tsume stopped pulling her son and sighed quietly before turning to him and giving him a sad look "Your wrong Kiba, I pray every month, the Inuzuka's are in a great debt to the fourth Hokage, he has done a great deal for this clan, so many of the Inuzuka's are avid prayers" Kiba looked down ashamed that he didn't know about the small detail of his clan "Now come on, your an Inuzuka and it's time you started acting like one" Kiba didn't even argue as his mother began pulling him to the edge of the village.

Kiba began looking around him in fascination as he got further and further away from the places he knew and went further into places he had never explored. The forest here was lush and beautiful, and there were no houses or settlements anywhere, it was beautiful.

"The fourth loved this part of the forest, that's why the temple was placed out here" Tsume said in a sad voice as she too looked around. Kiba nodded and then froze when he caught sight of the large temple it was beautiful, and took Kiba's breath away.

"Come on" Kiba followed his mother up the steps to the entrance when he saw someone he would have never thought would be at the temple.

"Naruto?"

"Naruto!" The orange clad ninja whipped around and saw Kiba and his mother standing in the entrance of the temple. Zabuza watched as Naruto waved to the young Inuzuka before turning around and looking for something.

"Ah young Naruto I was wondering when you would return" Naruto's face split out into a grin as an old man walked forward and hugged him lightly, and from the way he looked Zabuza could already tell that the man wasn't going to live much longer.

"Old man Shun, wait where's Grandma Hoshi?" the young blonde asked as he looked around for the elder woman. Shun shook his head and laid a hand on Naruto's shoulders.

"She passed on Naruto, one week ago, in her sleep, she told me that she just wished to see you send once more" Naruto looked down and bowed his head in sadness.

"Shun what's going on" Naruto looked up as Tsume reached them and gave the old man a fond glance before smiling wickedly at Zabuza and Naruto.

"My Hoshi has passed on, and I fear it will be my time soon as well" Tsume whined a little before putting a hand on Kiba's shoulder.

"Well at least you lived long enough to see my son come to pray for the first time" The Inuzuka leader said proudly as Kiba blushed a little and smiled at the old temple keeper.

"Hi" Shun smiled and looked at Naruto who was still looking downcast.

"Don't worry Naruto I have already found the next temple keeper" the old man said moving off to the side, as a scarred man with greying hair began forward. When Naruto saw him he gasped, he knew that man: It was falcon or Anton Yashamiru, his second ANBU unit commander.

"Hello Naruto, it's been a long time" Naruto nodded and grabbed the older man's hand pulled him off to the side.

"What are you doing here, you used to be Falcon, you should be leading troops on missions and secret battle plans not taking care of a temple" Naruto hissed and then was shocked when Anton just shook his head.

"No Naruto, I'm old I'm forty five this year, I'm slowing, getting more injured and soon I'll die if I keep going. There comes a time in every ninja's life when they know that their best days are behind them that time for me is now, so when Shun asked me to take over the temple I couldn't refuse" Naruto sighed and nodded before the two of them walked back to the group who were waiting patiently for them to come back.

"Naruto are you just praying today?" shun asked clearing his throat a little. Kiba gave the temple keeper a weird look and then turned to his mother.

"What else can you do in a temple but pray" he asked making Tsume laugh a little.

"You can perform a sending" Kiba gave Zabuza a confuse glance making the former mist Nin chuckle a little. "A sending is a ritual dance, it's were the sender presents his chakra to the spirit and gods of the temple, it's very interesting to watch" Kiba looked at Naruto who was walking up to the sending platform.

"And Naruto does this?" Tsume placed a hand on Kiba's shoulder and shook her head as Naruto began to dance to the music of the Hymn playing in the temple.

Kiba got the message and stayed silent as Naruto continued to dance, Kiba watched in awe as the blonde's chakra became visible and began to float around him like different animals and began to race towards the alter. Suddenly Naruto's chakra began to spike and each of the statues in the temple began to glow, Naruto seemed to fall into a trance as his dancing became more complicated and harder to follow. Suddenly Naruto twirled to a stop and the orb at each of the god statue's feet glowed brightly. Shun nodded at Anton who then walked forward and helped Naruto walked down the steps.

"That was amazing" Kiba whispered as Naruto leant against the ex-ninja "But why are you so tired" Naruto chuckled and then walked towards Kiba on shaking legs before poking him on the forehead.

"Because you try performing for gods" He said before he collapsed onto the dog handler laughing a little. "You'd think that I'd be used to this by now wouldn't you" he said looking up into Kiba's eyes.

Kiba looked into Naruto's eyes and had to stop the blush that was threatening to rise, he didn't know why but being this close to Naruto was making him feel all hot and uncomfortable, and when he looked into his eyes he couldn't help but be entranced. Zabuza took Naruto from Kiba's grip and then shook his head as he placed the boy on his two feet "Seriously kid, you can't go two seconds without getting hurt can you?" Naruto laughed and nodded before he and Zabuza started towards the entrance of the temple.

"He is quiet the little boy" Tsume said making Kiba look up in confusion. "He's been performing sending's for the last six years" Kiba looked back at Naruto who was now yelling at Zabuza who was yelling right back.

Sasuke sucked in a breath and looked at the rouge ninja hideout, ever since the wave mission one month ago which was then bounce up to a A-ranked mission the council seemed to want to put their team on every available C-ranked mission they could. So far their team had completed just as many C-ranked as D-ranked mission, but today was the most dangerous situation they had gone on ever since the wave mission. Their mission was to kill a bunch of rouge ninja near the leaf village. Everything had been going according to plan until one of the younger ninja had captured Sakura saying that she was a pretty little thing. Sasuke looked up into the tree where Naruto was waiting for Kakashi's signal, it was no secret that Naruto was the killer of the group out of all three genin he held the most body counts, but also the most injuries. Kakashi had explained Naruto's new eye to them earlier that month when they'd seen Naruto use unheard of water jut-su's while making a six pointed pentagram field appear around him and the enemy: truthfully Sasuke was a little excited that his comrade has such an interesting bloodline although he still covered the ugly scarring up with his headband. Kakashi sighed and gave the signal, and Sasuke rushed into the cave silently. When he looked around the large rock he was hiding behind he was disgusted by what he saw. The leader of the group had Sakura on his lap and a possessive hand on the inside of her thigh laughing at what one of the other ninja said. Sakura had changed into a beautiful robe that flaunted all her newly acquired curves although also made he look very uncomfortable. Sasuke gripped his kunai tighter and then saw Naruto walk right in the door and sighed, it was going to begin.

"Yo freaks, it's your unlucky day" Naruto called out as he pulled out his curved kunai and charged forward.

Kakashi watched as Sakura wearing something much to revealing for a girl her age, Sasuke and a bloody Naruto all walked out of the cave together, he had been back up but it had all worked out-well apart from Sakura being captured. When the group were in front of him Kakashi looked Sakura over and found she was shivering.

"Sakura what happened to your clothes" he asked sadly.

Sakura shivered again and shook her head, Naruto frowned and his eye flickered from blue to red "Can we go, our mission is complete" Kakashi sighed and jumped into the trees he didn't know what the council was trying to do to it was slowly killing his team.

As they reached the village Kotsue and Izsum-the gate watches, waved in their team but then froze when they saw Sakura. The two gate guards had become very familiar with this team and had soft spots with all three genin, but they were still grown men and when they saw Sakura they turned bright red.

"Hello Sakura, ah what happened to you clothes" Izsum asked adverting his eyes respectfully as Kotsue did the same.

The pink haired Kunochi smiled at the two chunnin before shivering again "Let's just say this mission didn't go as smoothly as the others" the two chunnin nodded and Kakashi continued the group on their way when Kakashi stopped them and looked at Naruto sternly.

"What happened in there" he ordered the blonde.

Naruto adverted his eyes and then looked at Sasuke who looked down as well, "When we went into the cave Sasuke and went with your plan, but one of the ninja was able to get past Sasuke's defences I was able to stop him, when the leader of the rouge ninja attacked, I killed him brutally" he said holding up his red encrusted hand.

Kakashi sighed and then mentally added another kill to Naruto's list, so far he had let Sakura and Sasuke get there first kills out of the way but at the same time he took most of them. "Fine let's go report" the team nodded and Sakura linked hands with Naruto and squeezed his hand and mouthed a thank you to him before disentangling their hands and continued to walk next to Sasuke who was glaring at every boy who was giving Sakura any lingering looks.

The Hokage sighed as he looked over team seven, they were by far the most impressive genin team to date, with twelve C-ranked, one A-ranked and twelve D-ranked they looked more like a Chunnin team then they did a genin team, and it was beginning to show. The council was trying to get Naruto to let them keep their innocence and let him crawl back into ANBU but unfortunately Naruto's kill list was just going up and the others had been practically untouched in all their missions.

"Thank you team 7, you have the next five days off, that will be all" The Hokage said dismissing them.

Naruto sighed and walked out the door and then took out his bloody kunai, it was getting rusted with the amount of blood gracing its blade, and he would have to see Rat soon, so with another sigh he dug out one of the books Kakashi had lent him from his pocket and then began to read it as he walked, unknowingly getting strange looks from everyone, who were saying he was becoming a mini-Kakashi. Sakura shivered again and Sasuke took her by the arm and dragged her towards his house where he threw her into the shower fully clothed.

"You shower I'll get you a change of clothes" he snapped turning on his heel and stalking out of the bathroom.

When he was in the laundry room he breathed deeply trying to kill the blush that had risen to his cheeks. Two weeks ago puberty hit and Sasuke had started finding Sakura attractive and very distracting, when he asked Kakashi and Naruto for advice Naruto had just shrugged and said that he didn't see Sakura that way and why he was going through puberty as well he had decided if he like girls or boys yet. Kakashi had been even less help and had forced him to read the books that Naruto was which made him almost faint from blood loss, and after confronting Naruto about how he didn't get a nose bleed Naruto merely said he was more interested in the storyline than anything else.

"_Come on Sasuke its Sakura what are you doing, she's your teammate" _he said to himself as he got out Sakura spare change of clothes. Each member of their team had a change of clothes at each of their houses just in case something like this happened.

"Sasuke, do you have my clothes?" Sakura called out dropping her wet clothes on the ground. Sasuke blushed a deep red and he figured it out, Sakura was naked in his bathroom with nothing but a towel on.

"Y-yeah give me a sec" he called back clearing his throat as he gave Sakura the clothes who just smiled brightly and walked back into the bathroom and closed the door. Sasuke groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose "Why me" he whispered.

Naruto walked into the ANBU base unnoticed by many of the officers, and the ones who did knew who he was so they didn't care, when he got to rat's quarters he opened the doors and saw the ANBU officer seated on his bed reading a book his mask lying by his side.

"What's this Rat actually knows how to have down time" the elder ninja looked up and smiled when he saw Naruto and then picked him up in a big hug, it had been months since he had seen the young ex-ANBU and he would be lying if he said he didn't miss the young blonde.

"Naruto how are you, I heard you were the one who got Zabuza to join the village" Naruto nodded and scratched his head sheepishly, ever since he had been sworn in Zabuza had become head of the assassination department and helped teach many chunnin how to fight blindly or silently.

"Yeah don't say anything" he said pouting before he drew out his favourite kunai "I need a bit of help" Rat stared at the blade and almost fainted, how Naruto had managed to stain the metal a slight crimson colour he would never understand but somehow he had.

"You lucky I'm good" he said doing a jut-su on the blade and it glowed green before it was as good as new again "now please take care of this, it's one of my most prized possessions and I gave it to you, but I don't want you bringing it in to me in tiny little pieces"

Naruto nodded and hugged rat once again before jumping out of the window and landed on the ground outside the ANBU quarters.

Sasuke and Sakura walked down the street together when they saw Naruto sitting on the fence playing a cheery tune on his pipe entertaining Konoharmu and his friends. Sakura laughed and raced up to them and just watched as Naruto winked at her and began playing a fast tempo song making Konoharmu laughed and jumped and do a flip only to stack it and crash into a wall of flesh. Sasuke looked up and saw a man in a black suit with cat ears on his shawl with purple battle paint on his face, with a giant bandaged thing on his back. Behind him was a Kunochi dress in a light purple dress with her hair in four ponytails and a large fan on her back.

"You little snot watch where you're going" the guy said lifting the small boy up by his scarf. Naruto stopped playing his pipe and jumped down to stand in front of the other two children and stared at the guy with a bored expression "I suggest you put him down" the guy sneered and chuckled.

"Oh yeah or what?" Naruto sighed and looked at Sakura who shrugged and shook her head a little.

"Well number one, that" he said pointing to Konoharmu "is the Hokage's grandson" the guy in black dropped the boy like he was on fire and then backed away "and number two your foreigners and if you don't act respectful in our village I'll have to teach you" he said glaring at the two sand shinobi making them step back a little in fear.

"Kankuro do you feel that he feels like..." the girl said staring at Naruto in fear as she looked into his one visible eye and gulped.

"Yeah I know, I don't think I want to get into something with him" he whispered back before clearing his throat. But before he was going to apologize Naruto's attention had been turned to the tree just opposite them.

"Don't you think you should be a little more kind" he snapped, Sakura whipped around and gasped when she saw a red head hanging upside down from one of the branches she hadn't even felt him appear and yet Naruto had pin pointed where he was almost immediately.

"Kankuro, what are you doing" the red head said in a raspy voice, making everyone but Naruto flinch.

"**KIT BE CAREFUL HE IS LIKE YOU, HE HOLDS MY YOUNGEST BROTHER FROM WHAT I CAN TELL" **Naruto stared at the red head who shot him a shocked look as if he could have felt him talking to Kyuubi.

"G-gaara I was just going to" Kankuro stuttered and squeaked when the red head disappear in a swirl of sand and appeared two feet in front of Naruto and tried to stare him down.

"Shut up or I'll kill you" Gaara said not taking his eyes off Naruto who in turn didn't blink as he stared at him. Gaara blinked once and then turned away before turning to stare at the group his eyes flickering on Sakura-which didn't escape Naruto's notice-and then on Sasuke before landing on Naruto. "Who are you all?"

"Sasuke sneered and crossed his arms "Sasuke Uchiha"

Sakura looked down and then back up before gulping "Sakura Hurno" she said unwavering.

Naruto just stared at Gaara for a second and then nodded his head once "and I am Naruto Uzumaki"

Gaara nodded and then faced them fully "I am Gaara of the Desert" he said before glaring at his teammates. Who both turned to face them.

"I am Temari Sabuku" the girl with the fan on her back said bowing a little to Naruto who just nodded before fixing his gaze on the boy he had threatened earlier.

"I am Kankuro Sabuku" he said before all three of them turned away and walked off leaving the three leaf ninja standing where they were.

"it seems as if the Chunnin exams have started" Sakura said sighing looking at each of the boys who nodded before Naruto just began to play his pipe again all three of them ignoring the hawk that flew overhead.

The Jonin sensei's gathered in the Hokage meeting room and just stood around looking at the Hokage and the two council members. The Hokage sighed from around his pipe and called for order. "As you have noticed the Chunnin exams have arrived, many of you would have noticed foreign ninja around out village" Kakashi looked over at Asuma and Kurenai who both nodded and then sighed before nodding back.

"_If anyone can survive this it's my team" _he thought sadly _"hell there practically chunnin already" _

The Hokage looked at Iruka who smiled and nodded before facing the gathered sensei's once again "Okay will the rookie sensei's please come to the front, we will now submit recommendations for the chunnin exams" he said sitting back wondering how it fan out.

Kurenai flicked her hair back before putting her fingers in the Tora sign "I Kurenai Yuaka, recommend Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuga for the chunnin exams" the whole crowd started whispering about how they were just rookies.

The Hokage nodded and then looked at Asuma who also put his hand in the Tora sign "I recommend Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akamichi, and Ino Yakamara for the chunnin exams" he said smirking in his father's direction.

Iruka gripped his clip board in an almost vice like grip and they looked at Kakashi praying that he had more sense than the others. "I Kakashi Hatake recommend, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Hurno and Naruto Uzumaki for this year's Chunin exams"

Iruka slammed his hands on the table and glared at all three Jonin instructors. "Are kidding me, all three of those teams are freshly graduated they aren't ready to go through such an intense exam" the academy teacher shouted.

Kakashi glared at Iruka and cocked his head to the side "Really, and pray tell what do you know about these ninja anymore" Iruka was taken aback and then looked down "You don't know these genin any more, they have change so much since they graduated the academy, if you don't believe me check their records, and any way" Iruka looked up and started into Kakashi's cold eyes "they aren't your students any more...there mine and I say they're ready for this exam"

Iruka sat down and the Hokage nodded "very well I accept all the recommendations, the chunnin exams will start one week from today, please get your teams ready" he said and then looked at Kakashi and sighed, he would have pushed Kakashi to make Naruto go for the exam any way with the council breathing down his neck for their favourite weapon to advance he was hard pressed not to just promote the genin right away.

Kakashi disappeared and ended up in the forest where Sasuke was training, why Naruto played his pipe with what sounded like a bar song why Sakura was sharpening all their weapons. Not wanting to intrude on the team's moment Kakashi hung back and couldn't help but feel proud at how far his team had come. Naruto was being more open with everyone, but it was obvious that he still had some secrets, Sakura had dropped her fan girl image and had become the mama bear of the team making sure none of them were hurt or getting into too much trouble, hell she even fussed over him sometimes, although all three boys had met her wrath when they annoyed her too much and Sasuke had become friendlier and nicer to the point where he actually asked to hang out with his teammates although when he came to him and Naruto for advice about puberty it took all the restraint he had not to laugh at the confused and frustrated Uchiha heir. Sasuke walked over to the team and Sakura laughed at something he said why Naruto merely continued to play his cheery little tune.

"Hey guys" he called out stepping out in their range of sight. Naruto's eyes sparkled and he began playing a strange bouncy tune making Sakura laugh again and Sasuke smirk. "What is that?" the silver haired ninja asked in fascination.

"Your theme" Sakura said in-between perils of laughter. Kakashi looked at his team for a second before laughing right along with them and then shook his head and gestured for Naruto to stop playing. When the music stopped Naruto looked at Kakashi expectantly and he pulled out three sheets of paper. "I have recommended all three of you for the chunnin exams coming up in the next week"

Naruto looked at his three teammates and then nodded at each of them before smiling brightly at Kakashi before leaping on him and sitting on his shoulders why hugging him around the neck. "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, thank you, we love you Kakashi sensei" he shouted out making Sakura laugh again because of his antics.

Kakashi laughed as well before grabbing Naruto and pulling him from his shoulders "Get off, now remember go to the academy one week from now and go to room 301 got it" all three genin nodded and then went back to their previous activities. Kakashi sat down next and leant against the wooden training log Naruto was perched atop and began to read happily.

Naruto" Sakura said suddenly making the boy pause in his music playing "Why do you always act the way you do on missions, it's like you don't want me or Sasuke to see what you do" she said sadly.

Naruto looked down at Sakura and then up at the sky, "I protect you because that's what I do" Sakura looked up in shock and Kakashi raised an eyebrow as Zabuza walked into the clearing and leant against a nearby tree, "I'm not a ninja because I think it's cool or anything like that, I'm a ninja because I'm a protector and if it's the last thing I do...I will protect you"

Zabuza nodded and then sighed "OI BRAT DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU"D GET AWAY WITH IT!" Kakashi sighed as Zabuza once again started shouting at the fox jailor.

"How those two are friends I'll never understand" he muttered why Sasuke just looked at them confused while Sakura giggled a little.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN!" Naruto shouted right back getting to his feet and stared down at his friend-whom he shouted at more than mucked around with.

"YOU TOOK ALL THE LABELS OFF MY SCROLLS AND REPLACED THEM WITH THE OTHERS IT TOOK ME FOUR HOURS TO PUT THEM ALL BACK IN THE RIGHT PLACE" Zabuza roared making Sakura gasp for air as she laughed so hard while passer bys just stared confused as they watched them.

"OH YEAH WHAT PROOF DO YOU HAVE THAT IT WAS ME!" Naruto shouted right back.

Zabuza's eye twitched and he glared at the blonde evilly "because on the wall opposite my scroll locker written in spray paint was the words: NARTO RULES!" Naruto laughed and then wiped his eyes before shrugging.

"Eh it was payback for when you dyed my hair black" Zabuza's body lost all tension and he shrugged as well.

"Oh why didn't you just say so" Naruto shrugged again and Zabuza stretched out his body and then turned around to leave "See ya later brat"

"DON"T CALL ME THAT YOU BASTARD"

MAKE ME YOU DAMN _BRAT_"

Sakura stood up and glared at the two ninja making both of them freeze "Boy's that's enough if you yell any louder the rock village will be able to hear you" she said in a dangerously sweet voice.

Naruto and Zabuza both nodded before gulping. Sakura smiled and sat back down, Zabuza jumped into a nearby tree and started jesting Sasuke on making the young Uchiha frustrated while Naruto went back to playing his pipe.

"Well aren't we a strange bunch" Kakashi said before going back to his reading.


	8. Chunnin Exams: Kitsune's Comeback

**Chapter 7-The Chunnin Exams: Kitsune's Comeback**

Naruto panted as the masked ninja fell around him, all bleeding terribly, tomorrow in two days he would compete at the chunnin exams but somehow ninja who wanted to capture the leaf village's secrets had snuck in with the competitors, and had attack him as he rested in a tree, but they didn't know that he was a trained killer and wasn't afraid to spill some evil ninja's blood if the situation called for it.

"Monster" the leader croaked out around the blood pooling in his throat. Naruto walked over to him and bent down to hear what he was saying "You are no better than us" Naruto shook his head and gripped the ninja by the hair and lifted him to eye level.

"No you see you call me a monster and you were half right but you...you're not even worth the title human, your scum, me I'm a sacrifice" he said before twisting the man's neck and laying the man's body on the ground before looking up into the sky and sighed.

The sun was rising and here he was walking around in bloody clothes, Naruto sighed again and walked over to a large tree and pushed his hand through the bark and into a hidden hollow and pulled out a spare change of clothes before walking off to the stream to bath and change.

Naruto looked at himself in the water and touched the whisker like scars and then put a hand on his stomach where the seal would appear if he channelled chakra, but unlike those two markings Naruto wanted something like Gaara did to show everyone that he was a demon sacrifice.

"**KIT WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?" **Kyuubi asked as Naruto removed his headband and revealed his almost fully healed pentingan eye to the world. After three weeks of just calling it his new eye he and Kyuubi had finally decided on a bloodline name and because of the pentagram pupil in his eye they had called it the Pentingan eye.

"Nothing Kyu just musing" the blonde said before jumping in the water. When Kiba's face jumped into his mind it hit him what he should do "I'll get a tattoo!" he yelled before washing himself quickly.

"**NARUTO YOU ARE AWARE YOU GOT AN HOURS SLEEP LAST NIGHT?" **Kyuubi said in his big brother voice making Naruto roll his eyes as he quickly dried himself.

"Yes Kyu, but I'm not tired I mean all I've done for the last five days is train, we haven't had any missions so meh" Naruto said as he pulled on his clothes and then rushed towards a house he knew very well.

When he reached the house he wanted he began banging on the door hard "Come on you damn bastard I know your there, I got a favour I want to ask you" Zabuza opened to door his face not bandaged and glared at Naruto.

"What is you damn brat I've got the day off today and I intended to use it well" he said as he leant against the doorframe. Naruto grinned and then looked down and gulped.

"I was wondering if you'd come with me to get a tattoo" Zabuza looked at Naruto like he had grown another head before the blonde quickly explained "There is this guy who actually really likes me, he's an ex-ninja and he told me about a year ago that he'd give me a tattoo whenever I wanted as long as a Jonin was to accompany me so that it didn't look suspicious when he worked on me, and I know Kakashi will say no and I don't really want to ask anyone else so please" Zabuza thought about it for a second and then nodded before walking back into the house and then a few moments later the swordsmen walked out fully dressed in Jonin gear his face bandaged expertly.

"Let's go" Naruto smiled at his friend and then lead him to a small shop that looked very professional, but was closed. Naruto didn't even look at the shop and just walked inside and cleared his throat.

"Juudai?" It's Naruto I've got a job for you" Zabuza was going to tell him that no one was there when a young man with mismatched eyes and a bright red jacket walked out wiping his hands and smiled at him.

"Well if it isn't my little bro, what's up" he said smiling at Naruto who smiled right back, Juudai had messy brown hair that was lighter at the roots then at the ends. "Who's this?" he asked looking at Zabuza.

Naruto looked up at Zabuza and then smiled at Juudai "He's you insurance: Zabuza here is a Jonin here and is here to make sure you don't look bad" Juudai laughed and then nodded before motioning them over to a desk where sheets of paper and black pencils were lined up.

"Well alright then, what do you want and where?" the brunette asked in a cheerful voice making Zabuza confused-who wanted to draw on people for a living.

"I want the nine tailed fox...and I want it to cover my back" Naruto said in a deadly serious voice. Juudai looked at Naruto and nodded once before linking his hands and looking Naruto up and down before nodding once more.

"It'll go over to your shoulders and sides is that alright?"Naruto nodded and Juudai picked up a piece of paper and a pencil before sketching out a perfect nine tailed fox. Naruto looked it over and nodded, its tails would go over his shoulders and down the back of his arms, the foxes head was turned up as if looking at the moon and his legs were perfectly spread apart, it back leg would spread onto the side of his ribs.

Naruto looked over the design once more before nodding, "It's perfect" Juudai nodded and then got Naruto to strip his top half off and then size up the tracing paper on his back before making him lay on the tattoo chair while he quickly sketched out the ink copy on the trace paper.

Naruto flinched when Juudai laid the wet paper on his back and then gasped as the ink sunk down into his skin waiting to be traced on. "Okay Naruto this is going to hurt okay" Juudai said as he started up the ink pen. Naruto just grunted and Zabuza watched as Juudai dipped the tip of the pen in the black ink and then began scarring Naruto's skin with the black ink.

"_Well kid there's no going back now" _

The next day Naruto woke up with his whole chest bandaged with some of his arms. Since Kyuubi was helping the healing process Juudai had told him that the Tattoo would be fully healed and completely set in three days. But until then Naruto had to keep the bandage on at all times, the whole procedure had taken five hours, and now on his back was a beautiful pure black nine tailed fox with a white eye with a black slit gracing the centre of the eye. When Zabuza had asked how the two of them had met Juudai had told him about how Naruto had saved him when they were both in ANBU and how the boy had helped him retire as a tattoo artist. But now the day of the chunnin exams had arrived and Naruto was slowly pulling on his clothes thinking about the road ahead.

"**KIT DON'T WORRY YOU'LL DO FINE, IT CAN'T BE ANY HARDER THEN WHEN THAT MENTALIST GUY TEST YOU FOR THREE DAYS STRAIGHT" **Kyuubi said in an annoyed voice.

Naruto chuckled when he remembered those three days: two months after joining ANBU the council had tested him to see how strong his will was and had put their best interrogator on the job, and for three days straight he had worked on him trying to break him, so for three days straight Naruto had taunted the guy back and ended up being labelled as unbreakable.

"Yeah I guess your right Kyu" he said as he pulled his jacket on and then sighed as he looked around his apartment absently. He didn't really like this place but it was able to be lived in and the bed was comfortable so that last night wasn't extremely painful.

As Naruto walked down the street towards the academy he began to think about all his past battles and then shook his head as he thought of all the blood he had spilt so far "No it wasn't my choice" he whispered.

"**KIT I HAVE TO RECOMEND THAT YOU USE THE PENTINGAN VERY CAREFULLY" **The great demon said in a very tired voice. Naruto froze and his face became confused.

"But why it's a great asset" he said in a slow voice.

Kyuubi sighed and then flooded his system with Kyuubi chakra **"KIT THE NIGHTMARES YOUR HAVING ARE EXTREMLEY DANGEROUS AND YOU END UP GETTING LESS SLEEP THEN NORMAL, DO YOU UNDERSTNAD" **Kyuubi said in a scared voice.

Naruto smiled and began walking again shaking his head "Kyu with every great power comes its consequences and if using the Pentingan means a few sleepless nights then I'll take it" Kyuubi shook his head before settling down for a long sleep.

"**VERY WELL LITTLE ONE, VERY WELL" **Naruto jumped on to a nearby rooftop and then stared down at the academy and sighed before jumping down in front of his team.

Sakura almost shrieked when Naruto jumped down in front of her but instead took a deep breath and just hit him on the side of his head, 'Don't do that you know I'm scared easily" she said in a fond voice.

Naruto smiled and then shrugged before walking into the academy with Sasuke and Sakura either side of him. When they got to the second floor he cocked his head to the side to side when he saw that the sign read: 301. That's when it hit him-Gen Jut-su.

"Get back" Naruto rolled his eyes when he saw Kotsue-who was under a jut-su to look younger- hit an unlucky genin in green spandex onto the floor "Look if you can't even block that hit then you shouldn't be chunnin"

Naruto sighed and walked forward and gave a small nod to Sasuke who sighed and stepped forward "Hey try dispelling the gen jut-su were on the second floor" he said in an annoyed voice-one fit for an Uchiha.

Izsum who was also under a jut-su smirked "I see you could see through the disguise" he said in a cocky voice and the sign above the door swirled until it read 201. Naruto crossed his arms and glared at Izsum and Kotsue who then sneered and went to attack Sasuke who also began to block with a kick. Suddenly two blurs flashed past and the boy in green spandex with a bowl cut was holding back Sasuke why Naruto had Kotsue's wrist in a crushing grip making him wince slightly.

"He stopped my attack" both Kotsue and Sasuke thought.

"Lee, good job you blew our cover, and it was your idea to play it cool" a girl with two buns in her hair said in an annoyed voice. Lee ignored the girl and just stared at Naruto who was shaking his head at something Sasuke said and then said something back making the Uchiha frown but nod at the same time.

"He was just as fast as me" Lee whispered. His other male companion with long brown hair and pale violet eyes just like Hinata's frowned and shook his head.

"No way, Lee you've trained almost to death to get to that speed, are you sure he didn't use chakra?" Lee shook his head and stare the boy in the eyes

"Neji can tell that boy may not seem like anything next to the Uchiha but he is someone worth watching" Neji frowned but nodded before advancing on the two of them but not before Lee saw Sakura step into the group of three.

"You the raven haired what's your name" Sakura rolled her eyes and pulled Naruto's jacket and motioned for the stair way and the blonde nodded and began to move off when their path was blocked by Lee.

"Sakura...please do me the honour of going out with me" the boy said with fire burning bright in his eyes and his fist raised clenched. Sakura looked at Naruto who just shrugged and Sakura cleared her throat and stepped forward and took his fist in her hands.

"Let me think about it okay" she said giving him a sweet smile. Lee's face broke out in a large and happy grin before he seemed to melt into a puddle on the floor. When he stood back up he saw Naruto and Sasuke standing either side of Sakura who was laughing at something the blonde had said.

"Damn Uchiha so arrogant" Lee ignored his teammate and then looked at Ten-Ten and gave her a determined look.

"Ten Ten please go on without me I shall catch up; I have something's I have to do first" Lee said before walking off in the direction Naruto and his team had gone off in.

Izsum and Kotsue and stared after Naruto and the bandaged ninja shivered a little why rubbing his wrist a little "Look I'll say this, that Naruto kid, I would hate to fight him"

Izsum laughed and patted his friend on the back as they transformed into their normal forms "Well I guess the exams this year are going to be quite interesting"

Naruto clapped Sasuke on the back and was just about to say something when he stopped and turned around to see Rock Lee standing on the balcony in front above him. Sasuke stopped and turned around and gave Naruto an irritated glance before following his line of sight and smirking when he saw the spandex wearing ninja standing on the balcony above them.

"Sasuke Uchiha I am Rock Lee, and I wish to fight you" Naruto's eyes went wide and he looked at Sakura who also was quite worried and shook his head.

Sakura placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder "Sasuke maybe you should save yourself for the exam" Sasuke shook Sakura's hand off and shook his head.

"Nah if this freak wants to fight I'll fight him" Naruto sighed and Sakura put her hands up in defeat.

"Okay fine, I tried" she said in a annoyed voice as she and Naruto walked to the edge of the practise hall and watched as Lee jumped down silently a faced Sasuke in the traditional Tai-Jut-su pose.

Naruto groaned as Sasuke activated his Sharingan and then got ready himself "I knew it now were gonna have to put up with his whining" Sakura gave Naruto a confused glance before she finally saw what Naruto did when Lee kicked Sasuke straight into the air and then appeared behind him.

"I am not using Gen jut-su or Nin Jut-su, I am using pure Tai Jut-su, and even if you can see my moves...it doesn't mean you can keep up with them" he said as his bandages were about to wrap around him only to be pinned to the wall by a pinwheel.

Naruto looked straight ahead and his eyes widened in disbelief, right in front of him was a...turtle. What was even more, Lee was now bowing to the turtle who was yelling at him about using a secret technique. Sasuke limped to his side and then stared at the turtle confused when suddenly Lee backed up scared.

"Well okay Here GAI SENSEI!" the turtle yelled and smoke exploded and when it cleared Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all were shocked when they saw a larger version of Lee with a flak jacket standing on the turtles back.

After a bit of arguing the man with larger eyebrows than Lee punched his student in the face and then hugged him while a sunset appeared in the back ground dazing all three genin.

"I can't believe I lost to him" Sasuke muttered and Naruto laughed loudly clapping pointing at Sasuke while Sakura held her laughter back.

"Yeah just imagine what Kakashi Sensei will say" Naruto howled when suddenly Gai was behind them laying a hand on Naruto's shoulder, and when they all turned around they were almost blinded by the bright spark that his teeth glared back.

'So Your Kakashi's students" Gai said in a loud voice before looking each of them over before his gaze landed on Naruto "I must say for rookies you seem like prime students, Kakashi was bless with your POWERS OF YOUTH"

"**KIT IS THIS MAN ENTIRLEY SANE?" **Naruto bit his lip as he stopped himself from laughing and then cleared his throat "So you know Kakashi sensei?"

Gai held his chin and then smiled again dazing the team again "Yes he and I are eternal rivals, so far I'm in the lead with 50 wins to Kakashi's 49, impressive no" he said, Naruto was starring at the roof when he looked back at him with his best Kakashi impression which was even better because of his headband.

"Hm did you say something" Gai fell to the floor and he grabbed Naruto by both shoulder before waving Lee over "Lee this boy is a prime candidate for your very own eternal rival, look he is so cool he's mastered Kakashi's aloof posture and even his ability to make me seem utterly dumbfounded" Naruto's eyes became panicked as Lee got very close to him with fire in his eyes.

"When we met again we shall fight what is your name?" the mini Gai asked

"Naruto Uzumaki" Naruto said slowly and Gai's eye lit up with recognition when suddenly two hands covered Gai's and when Naruto looked up he was relieved to see Kakashi standing behind him with a smile on his face.

"Can I have my student now, they have to register for the exams still" Gai leapt back and then gave Kakashi his blinding smile before nodding "of course soon we'll see who trained their students better" then both Lee and Gai were gone.

Naruto dropped and he sighed before walking down the hall with Kakashi and his team. When they reached the door to the first exam Kakashi didn't say anything but just smiled at them and nodded for them to continue.

"Oi Brat, good luck" Naruto looked over at the wall opposite the entrance and saw Zabuza leaning against the wall with pride shinning in his eyes as he looked at all three of them.

"Thanks you damn bastard" Zabuza grinned and nodded as the three of them entered the room.

It seemed that they were well known or something, because when they entered the room every genin in the room decided to try to intimidate them with killer intent. Sakura leant over to Naruto and whispered in his ear "Show them what Killer intent really is, go on I know you can"

Sasuke laughed and nodded, Naruto grinned and hid his eyes in the shadow of his bangs before looking up and piercing them with enough killer intent that it made Kyuubi cackle in glee. Many of the genin in the room shrunk back with fear in their eyes, why the odd team like Gaara's team just looked shocked at the amount of bloodlust was in that one boy's glare.

"Hey look who they let in"

Naruto bent down and suddenly a purple blur rushed past and glomped onto Sasuke. When he stood back up he saw that it was Ino who was hugging Sasuke tight enough to make him glare at both Naruto and Sakura who just looked away as if they had nothing to do with anything.

"You're taking this thing to, what a drag" Naruto looked up happily as he heard the familiar voice of one of his old friends from school. Shikamaru waved lazily when he looked at Naruto and Chouji just continued to eat his chips.

"Shikamaru how are you" Naruto asked his eyes friendly as he looked over the slacker for any signs of major injury. The shadow user shrugged and yawns when suddenly Ino started yelling at Sakura to react about Sasuke, to which she just held her hands up in defence.

'What happened to her" Shikamaru said motioning for Sakura who was still trying to get away from Ino.

Naruto chuckled and scratched his head "She kinda gave up on him" Shikamaru's eyes went wide when a white blur landed on Naruto and began barking and yipping happily.

Naruto laughed and began patting Akamaru who leant into the fox boys touch and whined happily "Hey boy how you been"

"He's been good" Kiba said as he and his team came up behind him."But I've been better"

Naruto shook his head and gave Akamaru to his owner before nodding to Shino who nodded back and smiled at Hinata who blushed bright red and hid herself in her jacket. "So the rookies are all together again are they" Shikamaru said as Naruto was called over to his team who were in a corner discussing something.

"You shouldn't make so much noise" the other six rookies looked over to see a guy with silver hair and glasses walking towards them with a smile on his face "a lot of these guys have travelled really far and are really testy, so it would be best not to get on their nerves"

"How would you know so much" Kiba asked as Akamaru sat on his head confidently.

Kabuto smirked and pulled out a deck of cards and knelt on the ground with them "I have failed this exam six times, and have been gathering information on everyone and everything on each of these cards holds different Intel in fact I even have profiles on all of you"

"Show us" Ino said in a disbelieving voice

Kabuto nodded and picked up the first card and pushed his chakra into it and a 3D bar graph appeared on the card "This graph holds the data base of the competitors this time for the chunnin exams, as you can see leaf has the most why the sound village has the least, in fact I don't have a lot on the sound village, it's relatively new and I don't know much about them, but if you give me a name or description of any ninja here I can tell you just about anything you want to know"

"Naruto Uzumaki" Shino said suddenly making the other rookies including Kabuto look at him strangely "he was an enigma in the academy I would like to hear where he is at now"

Kabuto nodded and then swiped a card from the middle and pushed his chakra into the card and his eyes widened in shock.

"No way" Shino looked at Kabuto and told him to tell him what was so strange. "Naruto Uzumaki, he has completed twelve D-ranked missions, twelve C-ranked missions and one A-ranked missions, not only that but my information says that he has a newly made bloodline in his right eye and was the one who brought Zabuza Momichi to the leaf village, he also has the highest body count out of the last four graduating genin going up near the late forties" the other rookies looked over at Naruto in shock while Shino nodded.

Suddenly the three sound ninja leapt across a bunch of desks and one with his face covered in bandages leapt forward and swung to punch Kabuto who smirked and dodged it, only to have his glasses crack and him collapse and start to vomit a few seconds later.

"No way he dodged that" Sasuke said only to be held back by Naruto when suddenly a large explosion covered the whole front of the classroom with smoke and when it cleared it reveal almost twenty chunnin standing behind a man in a trench coat who made Naruto gasp, "No way"

"**IT'S HIM!" **

Naruto stared at the proctor not listening to the rules as he stared at the man in annoyance, in front of him was the very man who had interrogated him for three days straight, although he was sure the trench coat wearing man had no idea who he really was. Naruto sighed and got his number and sat down as he was given his test, face down.

As Ibiki-as he introduced himself as-explained the rules Naruto mulled over each one and then noticed that each rule had at least something to do with cheating which made him very confused.

"Kyu he can't be, he is isn't he" Naruto said to his demon as he figured out the true meaning of the test and shot the proctor an annoyed glare.

"**YEP, HE WANTS YOU TO CHEAT KIT, GOOD THING YOU HAVE THE ULTIMATE CHEATING WEAPON" **Kyuubi said with a smug voice.

Naruto smirked and touched his headband and then nodded "So much for using the Pentingan carefully right" he said to Kyuubi making the demon growl in annoyance.

"**THIS GUY HAS IT COMING, LET'S SHOW HIM HOW TO GET INFOMATION EASIER THEN PLAYING MIND GAMES WITH THEM" **Naruto laughed a little and then nodded.

When Ibiki motioned for them to begin he watched as the blonde kid in the third row centre just smirked at him and then looked around before cracking his knuckles and pushing his headband into the right position on his forehead. When he stared at his right eye he was captivated by the sight of a sight pointed pentagram which then glowed blue for a second and everything went hazy and a faint voice overflowed into his mind. "Pentingan link complete"

When the haze cleared Ibiki shook his head and saw the blonde kid smiling and returning his headband in the right place before picking up his pencil and writing down an answer in every box.

"_Could he have somehow gotten the answer off me" _Ibiki frowned and began studying the boy carefully and when he took in the boy's relaxed posture as he stopped writing he found it awfully familiar. After studying the boy for a few more minutes it hit him: This boy was Kitsune, Naruto Uzumaki the Kyuubi jailor was the Unbreakable ANBU Kitsune.

Kakashi sat in the Jonin lounge with the other Rookie Jonin sensei's as they waited to hear if their teams made through the written part of the first exam. Asuma started laughing making Kurenai who was fiddling nervously shot him a death glare.

"What is so funny" she snapped making Asuma hold up his hands in defence before grinning at Kakashi who just stared at him blankly.

"Did you hear who the proctor for the first exam is" Kakashi shook his head and began to get nervous when Asuma smirked again "It's Ibiki Morino" Kakashi sat back and groaned.

"Great if the kids had bad odds before they have terrible odd now" Kurenai looked at both male senseis and shook her head confused.

"I don't get it, what's so bad about this Ibiki" Asuma shot her a look of disbelief and then nodded suddenly.

"That's right you're a new Jonin aren't you Kurenai" he said "So you wouldn't know"

"So what tell me now"  
Asuma nodded and gave Kakashi an amused glance "Ibiki is what you'd call a specialist" Kurenai gave him a confused glance and Asuma sighed putting down his cigarette and face the kunochi fully. "Ibiki is head of the interrogation department. But he has never once harmed a prisoner, he doesn't need to, he knows the human mind so well that he can turn it against itself"

"But" Kakashi sad suddenly still looking at the ceiling "Ibiki doesn't like telling anyone this and only a few Jonin like Asuma and myself know that he doesn't have a perfect record" Kurenai shook her head.

"Wait didn't you just say" she said thoroughly confused.

Asuma nodded cutting her off "Yes it's true Ibiki is the best of the best, but about six going on seven years ago, Ibiki was second of the interrogation department and a young ANBU you might know him: Kitsune was inducted into the force" Kurenai nodded like he was crazy, every Chunnin knew who was Kitsune, he was only the most respected and successful ANBU in the history of the leaf village. "Well the council wanted to see if this kid could be trusted so they stuck him in with Ibiki for a full three days, well this kid, he didn't break, he taunted and sneered at Ibiki every chance he got and by the end of the three days Kitsune was labelled as the most trusted ninja in the village, and like Kakashi said only ninja who know were the ones who were actually present for Kitsune's release"

Kurenai looked at Kakashi who nodded and then went back to fiddling with her hands "Is there any chance that out kids will make it?"

Kakashi nodded and Asuma laughed "Oh trust me, with the leaf village's number one most unpredictable ninja in the exam I have a feeling Ibiki will be feeling the heat like he did with Kitsune"

"What do you mean" Kurenai asked Kakashi who sighed and shrugged.

"Naruto is...he's a little different from other ninja's he doesn't seem to care whatsoever about what happens to himself, he just can't get scared" Kakashi said "He went up against Zabuza unblinkingly and took a slash to his right eye and still continued to fight, it'll take more to faze him then Ibiki's tricks"

Ibiki took a deep breath as he looked at Naruto with awe, after almost seven long years the one black mark on his record was sitting in front of him as a genin, when he had heard that Kitsune had disappeared from the ANBU headquarters he was scared to think he had defected but now looking at the blonde teen in front of him he knew better. Turning to look at the clock he smirked when he noticed that it was time to see if the kid really was Kitsune.

"Okay times up, now it's time for the final question" Naruto leant forward and gave Ibiki an annoyed look, he knew what this guy was up to he saw it in his memories but he didn't know how he was going about it.

"But you see if anyone of your teammates fail this question...you all fail" the students all shrugged as that had been the rules the whole test nut Naruto shook his head and glared at him harder, he knew what was happening it was a test of wills "and if you fail, you will never be able to take the chunnin exam again." Everyone began to gasp and whisper why Naruto just sat back and gave Ibiki a bored stare. "If you wish you may leave now and try again later"

A few minutes passed and some unknown ninja put up his hand and left the room. Soon ninja in every direction were quitting. Sakura bit her lip when Ibiki looked right at Naruto and she sighed, there was no way her blonde companion would stay strong under to scary proctors influence.

"So little man, what will you do" all the ninja looked at Naruto who just stared right back at Ibiki before standing up and smirked in his direction. Ibiki did an inward dance of joy, this was Kitsune it couldn't be anyone else.

"The people who just left the test don't deserve to be chunnin, if you're not willing to risk your life for your teammates, you're not worthy of being a ninja" he said fiercely.

Ibiki watched as the other genin in the room strengthen their wills and then nodding he took a deep breath "if you all feel that way then I have one thing to say to you" he said pausing for dramatic effect "You all Pass"

"WHAT!" Naruto took his hands from his ears and looked around annoyed at all the outraged genin who still didn't understand the meaning of the test. "What about the other nine questions" a kunochi yelled and Naruto stood up and flared out his killer intent.

"SHUT UP AND HE MIGHT EXPLAIN" then as if magic all the genin sat down quietly and face Ibiki who was holding in his laughter unlike some of the proctors who were clutching their sides in laughter.

"The real reason for this test was to gather information without being caught, a true chunnin should be able to spy and get information easily without endangering the mission" Ibiki said once Naruto sat back down and nodded at him to proceed. "Before you all ask the tenth question was a reason as well, sometimes when a chunnin is on a mission they aren't given all the information about the target so they have to go in blind, the chunnin has to put all his faith and his life in the hands of his teammates, that is what a leader has to do sometimes, place his life in other people's hands" Ibiki Said, the group of genin all nodded when suddenly a black ball crashed through the window and a large sheet was strung up saying "ANKO MASTURI 2ND PROCTOR"

Naruto's eye started to twitch, he knew who Anko was, he had gone on many missions with her and usually found her company to be really entertaining, but she always had an annoying impulse to scare everyone half to death. "Eyes front you snot nosed brats"

Naruto sighed and walked over to the woman in a tan trench coat who was facing the wrong way before spinning her around and walking back to his seat mumbling about annoying proctors and the like.

Anko laughed and scratched his head and then stared at Naruto for a second and then looked at Ibiki who nodded slightly making her eyes widened a little, why would Kitsune take the chunnin exam it was stupid he could kill these genin.

"Alright brats tomorrow meet at training area 44 for the second part of the exam"

Naruto sighed and looked out the window _'great the forest of death" _


	9. How Long does it take

**Chapter 8- How long does it take for a snake to freeze?**

The genin milled around the large caged forest in awe as Naruto looked at the forest of death with a sigh, some of his least favourite memories were in that forest, he had hid there once when he was five for a whole two months, he was probably the only one apart from Anko who knew the layout perfectly and what to expect in there. Looking at his team who were whispering to each other in low voices Naruto gnawed his lip and tightened his grip on the scroll in his left hip pocket. He would protect them: even if killed him.

"Naruto come here we need to go over a strategy" Sakura called waving the blonde over. Only a few moments ago Anko had explained the rules of the test and had handed them out release forms which had scared half the genin in the crowd and made Naruto's annoyance spike even higher than what it had been before.

"I think we should stick together, the forest is really big and if we split up we could end up lost and separated" Sakura said as Sasuke shook his head.

"I agree with Sakura, this forest isn't like the ones surrounding the leaf village, this forest was made to kill people, and there are trees in there that grow on the blood others" Naruto said looking at Sasuke with sad eyes.

"Naruto have you been in there before" Sakura asked in a small voice.

Naruto nodded and sat down with his team and sighed "I guess I should start by telling you my life have been a little less then charmed. The villagers just seem to hate me and they showed it to me, so one day after running away from a mob one day I hid...in their" he said pointing to the large forest "I was five years old, and I stayed in there for two months just living, I hunted when I wanted food and hid from the big creatures, but even the trees themselves were designed to kill, I remembered a tiger had been caught in this vine and it slowly sucked the blood from it, I went back to the tree three days later, it was three feet higher" Naruto said shivering slightly as he remembered the deadly plant.

Sasuke gulped and nodded before signing his paper and gathering his teammates. "So we'll stick together" Naruto nodded and then ran his hand along the scroll again.

"**KTI YOUR TAKING A BIG RISK HERE, USING THAT HERE WHAT IF SOMEONE SEES YOU?" **Kyuubi asked in a worried voice.

Naruto nodded and then looked at the scroll and sighed "As much as I wish it wasn't a part of me, contained in this scroll is a part of me that can help me protect everyone, and if it means going to the dark place again the I will" he said in a hollow voice as he looked up at his big brother.

"**YOU ARE BRAVER THAN ME LITTLE ONE, MAY THE GODS SMILED DOWN ON YOU" **

As Naruto came back to his senses he stared at Sakura who was pushing a heaven scroll into his hand "Naruto you hold on to it, you're the one no one would suspect" Naruto nodded and slipped the scroll into his hip punch before locking it with chakra.

Sasuke lead them to gate 14 where he stood on edge as they waited for the door to be open when he felt two presences beside him, when he looked around he saw Naruto standing on his right and Sakura on his left. "Guys" He whispered, making Naruto smile

"This isn't just about you Sasuke, were in this together" Sakura nodded and Sasuke cracked his knuckles and smirked before putting his hands in his pockets.

"Good, this should be easy then"

When the proctors opened the gates Team 7 rushed forward and then jumped up into the trees when Naruto stopped them and brought out a jar of green liquid and began smearing it on his skin. Before either one of them could protest Naruto had smeared some on the others shocking them both

"Naruto what are you doing" Sasuke hissed as Naruto began to smear the ground with the liquid which was beginning to harden and turn into like a dry mud.

"It's to cover our scents and shield our chakra, there are sensors and tracker ninja all though the exam and if we wear these we will essentially become invisible to them" he said before recapping the jar and shoving it into his pouch before standing up and jumping to the ground followed by his team. "I'll scout ahead, you set up a base here, and by base I mean I want every kind of trap you can think of don't worry about me I'll play Kakashi's theme to get your attention before I come back" Sasuke looked at Naruto confused and was going to shout that not splitting up was his idea when the blonde was already gone.

"That idiot"

When Naruto go out of eye sight he picked up his scroll and opened it before smearing the inside with a bit of his blood, then in a small puff of smoke, his ANBU uniform appeared. Naruto remembered when he had asked rat to give him back his uniform.

_Flashback_

_What do you mean you want your uniform back, you're not in ANBU " the commander said staring at Naruto in shock as he stood in front of him._

_Naruto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms and gave Rat a blank stare "Rat I'm going into the forest of death, I need that uniform" he said glaring at his old friend until he relented and passed Naruto a black scroll._

"_Naruto be careful with this scroll, when activated it releases a large chakra surge which will allow you to be found easier" Naruto nodded and strapped the scroll to his thigh before hugging rat once and jumping out the window. _

_Flash back_

Sighing Naruto stored his normal clothing in the scroll and then donned his mask and stared at the forest around him, then jumped high into the sky and scanned the forest before running along the treetops until he dropped down in front of a team of rock ninja. When the rock ninja saw him the smirked and threw their earth scroll from person to person.

"What are you supposed to be, an ANBU officer" one of them laughed as Naruto sighed and stood up slowly.

"No" when they stopped laughing Naruto pulled out his curved kunai and twirled it around once "see an ANBU , they have more value on human life: me I don't he said before rushing forward and slashing down.

Screams filled the air and many of the teams froze and looked around, in fear hoping that the battle wasn't going on anywhere around them. But one team: Gaara's team stood still as Gaara laughed in joy.

"So mother was right, he's like me, that boy is special" he said not noticing the rain ninja coming up behind him until his sand stopped an attack. "Well he can't be the only one to have any fun" he whispered as he spun around to face the ninja who dared to fight him. 

Naruto pocketed his scroll and began wiping his kunai clean on the grass before he jumped into the trees again and began calculating the time he could spend away from his team without them becoming suspicious of his whereabouts. _"Okay so I've already wasted a few minutes with that group know I should eliminate a few more teams before I go back" _

"KIBA LOOK OUT" Naruto's head whipped around and he stopped on a tree surrounding a clearing when he saw Kiba's team fighting a bunch of grass Nin, and they weren't fairing to well. Looking at the oncoming attack heading towards the back of Kiba's head, Naruto reacted in a instant and before any of the six ninja could react Naruto was holding the sword by the blade and had released a bit of Killer intent scaring the ninja in the clearing.

Kiba stood still and then gulped as the scent of fresh blood hit his nose as well as a forest like smell. When he turned his head he was shocked to see the fox masked ANBU from all those months ago standing back to back to him holding a sword by the blade, that had been intended to kill him. "What?"

"Get under cover" The ANBU ordered and Kiba wasted no time picking up Akamaru and jumping into a nearby bush with his teammates in tow. Naruto pulled out his Kunai and spotted three scrolls hanging from the leader's waist, this team was a collecting team. "You really shouldn't attack ninja from behind" he said before speeding forward and killing the leader's teammates before gripping his throat in a death grip. "I hate unfair fights" He said sinking his nails in and ripping out pulling the man's throat out.

Shino felt sick as his bugs relayed all the information to him but was slightly relieved that the ANBU was serving Konoha instead of any other team. "You can come out now" Shino nodded at his teammates and then stood up and walked out to the ANBU who was holding out several scrolls to him. "What type of scroll do you need?"

"E-earth" Kiba said suddenly and Shino had to commend the dog handler for his bravery. The ANBU nodded and handed the dog user the black scroll before turning on his heel. "Don't tell anyone you saw me here or of what I just did, it might end badly" the three genin all nodded and then masked ninja all jumped up and into the tree tops.

"I'm glad he's on our team" Hinata and Shino both nodded with Kiba who was still shaking slightly from fear.

Naruto gritted his teeth when he heard Sasuke yell in pain and a wave of dark chakra flow through the air. _"Sasuke, Sakura" _he thought before changing his clothes quickly while racing towards the place where he heard the scream. When he got there he saw a snake like man pinning Sakura to a tree while his tongue, which was ridiculously long licked the side of her neck and before he could even stop it Kyuubi's chakra flowed into his body changing him once again.

"**RIP HIM APART KIT"**

"Hmm know I see why Sasuke fought so hard to protect you, you're a special one. I like you" Orochimaru said in his hissing like voice.

"**Really, then your gonna love me" **Orochimaru turned around just in time to get punched in the face hard enough to send him flying into a nearby tree. When he got up he saw the Konoha demon brat standing over Sakura who was keeping the dazed and pained Sasuke awake by letting him squeeze her hand.

"Well I was wondering were the third member of this power squad was, it's about time you got here I was getting a little bored" The snake man said putting his hand on his hip "Now I shall introduce myself: I am Orochimaru I am one of the great Sanin" Naruto just growled and pulled his headband up so that it rested against his forehead comfortably.

"**Sakura, take Sasuke somewhere and stay close together: it's gonna get a little cold" **he said as he glared at Orochimaru while taking a deep breath. Sakura nodded and helped Sasuke to his feet and moved him to a nearby tree where she hugged him close. **"Pentingan, activate: ancient Ice path Fennier open" **Orochimaru looked around delightedly as the forest began to freeze his air becoming white fog as he breathed out.

"Ooh what's this?" Orochimaru said when he saw Naruto's eye he smirked and rushed towards the genin only to have his punch stopped by Naruto's hand.

"**Tell me, how long does it take for a snake to freeze to death?" **Naruto asked as the forest continued to grow colder that the trees crystallized. Orochimaru's eyes widened and he jumped back as Naruto ran through a complex set of hand signs that he couldn't follow. **"Fennier Pentagram arena" ** the genin called out before slamming his hand on the ground.

Suddenly ice spread out from his hand and continued to swallow the ground until it covered one mile in each direction in the form of a pentagon. "What is this power" Orochimaru asked in awe.

"**Trust me, you don't want to know" **Naruto said as he ran forward and slammed his fist into the sannin's stomach and then getting a kick to the face. Shaking off the bells that pounded inside his head Naruto knelt down and began running through another set of hand signs when his whole body was encased in a white blue armour with in the form of Fennier **"Ultimate Ice defence: Fennier Guardian armour" **

Orochimaru smirked and rushed forward and tried to hit the boy when the ice jumped out in the form of a dragon and surrounded him and locked him in place. "What is this?" he hissed in anger.

"**This Is what happens when you caught in my Fennier Kin Jut-su: the dragons of ice rush to my aid, and I can control them" **Naruto said simply as he pulled out his curved Kunai which was now made of crystal and walked towards the snake sannin who was struggling against the giant ice dragon.

When Naruto pulled back and stabbed the sannin he was shocked when he felt something pierce through his armour and into his stomach, he looked up at Orochimaru who was panting hard thanks to the Kunai lodged deep within his chest but was smirking all the same. "Doesn't matter how much armour you throw on, my singing grass sword can cut through anything"

Naruto flipped back and then began to pant as the toll of using the Pentingan and Kyuubi's chakra took effect.

"**KIT, OUR POWERS AREN'T MEANT TO BE USED TOGETEHR I THINK IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO USE YOUR FINAL MOVE" **Kyuubi said in a careful voice as he healed Naruto's injury.

Naruto nodded and then put up a wall of ice and began going through a set of hand signs, even when Orochimaru began to cut and smash his way through his defence he continued and then when he completed the last one he jumped up into the sky and let loose his attack. **"ancient Ice style: Deep Zero, Snarling Strike" **Orochimaru stared frozen as the ice clawed its way up his legs as the air fell to below freezing, it had gotten so cold that his hair was beginning to gain icicles on the ends. Naruto took in a deep breath and let the ice over take his body and soon when the ice had covered his body, Orochimaru was starring at a Mini Crystal replica of Fennier minus the orb. The wings of the dragon flexed and in between them and orb of chakra began to form when Naruto began his sky dive. Realizing the teen's intention Orochimaru began to fight against his bonds, but the cold had made him weak and he couldn't escape. Suddenly the dragon slashed down right on top of him when he let loose the orbs power making most of his motor functions become useless.

The dragon leapt back and faded away to reveal Naruto who was clutching his right eye why panting hard. Orochimaru gurgled and jumped off slowly getting away from the one ninja who had been able to harm him except for his teammates. As Kyuubi slunk back and was healing the internal damaged done by his final attack, Naruto walked over to the two shivering bodies belonging to Sakura and Sasuke before shaking them.

"Sakura we have to go" Naruto said lifting the half frozen girl to her feet.

B-but W-we D-Don't h-have t-the s-s-sc-scrolls" Naruto shook his head and brought out both a heaven And a earth scroll before lifting Sasuke onto his back and taking Sakura's hand. "W-wait" Naruto stopped and Sakura reached up and pulled down his headband and then shrugged "I-its w-weird s-se-seeing you w—without I-it" she stuttered as her teeth clacked together.

Naruto nodded and then broke off at a run, pulling Sakura who was practically being dragged and carrying Sasuke who was still moaning in pain on his back but still conscious.

By the time they reached the tower Naruto could tell not many teams had made it back and that they were one of the few, Sakura pulled her hand away and it made a cracking and flaking sound and then when both Naruto and Sakura looked down they laughed when they saw Naruto's green paste had began to crack and was flaking in some parts.

"Hey it sorta did its job no one else found us" Sakura said shivering a little. Even though they were out of the freezing temperatures that Naruto had created, Sakura was still freezing cold.

"Don't worry you'll be fine, they have medics in there" he said motioning to the large tower.

Naruto was right when he said that they'd be medics, somehow the tower medics and everyone else Chunnin level and higher had found out that they'd had an encounter with Orochimaru and had gathered around to wait for them, and as soon as Iruka had been summoned he hadn't wasted any time getting Sakura to a medic and handing Sasuke who was now sporting an ugly curse mark to Kakashi who had just frowned and then disappeared stating that Sasuke would be back in a few hours. But unlike his teammates Naruto was forced into a debriefing where he stood in front of Anko Ibiki and The third Hokage.

"Naruto please report" The third said in a tired voice.

The blonde nodded and cracked his neck before taking a deep breath "When I was in the forest I split from my team so that I could scout ahead and gather more scrolls, in that aspect of the test I was successful after a few battles" he said starting from the beginning but then stopped when he spotted Anko's smirk.

"Yeah we heard about Kitsune's amazing return to the field inside the forest, there's a rumour he's in there to make it harder for the genin" Naruto looked away and then cleared his throat.

"Any way on my way back I heard a scream and when I arrived at the scene I saw Sasuke collapsed on the ground holding the base of his neck in pain while Orochimaru held Sakura against the tree. I engaged the sannin in a battle and managed to injure him enough to get away, that's when we got back here after I carried Sasuke here on my back" Anko snorted and stepped out to stand next to Naruto.

"Lord Hokage what Naruto did was not just injure Orochimaru: he fatally injured him, when I found the snake sannin he was barely able to move" she said in a strong voice.

The Hokage gave Naruto a searching look and then sighed "Thank you for that Anko, but it makes no difference, it is obvious that Naruto is exhausted, it is only the second day of the test and he made it through a scuffle with one of the sannin let him rest with his teammates" Anko nodded and lead Naruto his team's room where Sakura was waiting where he fell on the bed and faded in unconsciousness.

Waking up was never easy for Naruto especially when he never got a good rest, that included right now. After three hours of sleep Naruto woke fully rested and ready to do some work. "Oh you awake" Naruto looked over and Saw Sakura sitting next to a bed that held Sasuke who was sleeping peacefully.

Naruto nodded and then followed Sakura out the room when she motioned for him. When the pink haired kunochi stopped they were standing in the girl's bathroom, after a few moments of leaving Naruto confused as all hell Sakura brought out a kunai and then touched her long hair.

"I was wondering if you'd" she said not explaining anything.

Naruto's eyes softened and he nodded taking the kunai off Sakura and stood behind her and took a long stand of hair and sliced straight through of it until it was a good half an inch above her shoulder. Sakura stayed silent through the whole thing and when Naruto was finished he had perfectly cut her hair so it was even and was still held back by her headband.

"There you go" he said softly, Sakura looked at the pink hair on the floor and then hugged Naruto tightly and let a few tears leak out of her eyes. It felt that by losing her hair she was letting go of her past self completely and that scared the kunochi. "Naruto thank you"

Night fell and Naruto sat on the railing that surrounding the balcony when he began to play his pipe happily. He was now perfectly healed and felt like he was on top of the world. Sasuke had woken up earlier and when he had seen Sakura with her short hair he had just stared for a while and couldn't look the pink haired girl in the eyes. For a while Naruto had just sat in the room and finished his new book before he got bored and went for a walk and ended up here. After reading the whole Make out Paradise book, Kakashi had given him the first volume of Make out Violence which he read with fascination.

"Hey Naruto" the blonde ninja stopped playing and then turned to see Kiba minus Akamaru standing on the balcony. Naruto put his pipe away and waved the canine user forward. Kiba grinned and jumped onto the balcony railing next to him and they just stared at the sky together.

When a loud roar echoed through the forest Kiba shivered in fear and then looked over at Naruto who didn't even have the slightest bit of fear in his body language. "Aren't you scared?" he asked, Naruto smiled softly and then shook his head making Kiba laugh a little "I don't get you, sometimes I think your just like all of us but then you go and tell me you don't get scared of big scary forests" he said shaking his head.

Naruto shrugged and then tried to stretch but found that the bandages on his back and shoulders were prohibiting movement. Clicking his tongue Naruto jumped off the railing and walked into the training arena where Lee was practising before the blonde ripped his jacket and shirt off and got one of his kunai and slashed the bandages off. When he turned around he froze when he heard several gasps. When he turned back around he saw Kiba and Lee just staring at him with wide eyes, why Neji who had been sitting nearby watching his teammate was looking at him with fury in his eyes.

"Naruto your back" Kiba said gulping as he took a step towards him "what is that?"

Naruto looked down and then sighed before looking up at him "It's a tattoo of the nine tailed fox" he said simply.

"But why would you get such a strange tattoo" lee asked grabbing his rival by the shoulders and stared him in the eyes.

Naruto looked at the ceiling "did any of you know my birthday is the same day as the Kyuubi invasion?" Kiba and lee shook their heads and Naruto nodded "When I first found that out I immediately felt a bond between not just the fourth and myself but the demon and myself, it's not a good thing to say but I feel connected to the demon somehow and I got this tattoo to always remind me of what happened on my birthday" Neji watched as Naruto pulled on his shirt and left the room with suspicious eyes, something about the blonde didn't sit right with the Hyuga


	10. Never Under Underestimate Me

**Chapter 9: Never Underestimate Me!**

Two more days passed, in which Sasuke managed to heal enough to be able to walk around and start training again. Many other teams had arrived and now the final day of the second exam had just finished. Standing in lines of three stood each genin team, in front of the Hokage and their Jonin sensei's as well as the proctors. Naruto looked around and then smiled when he noticed the different teams; there were five teams from the leaf village, one team from the sand and one from sound, so really it was going to be interesting seeing as half the time leaf ninja were going to go up against other leaf ninja. Sakura shook his shoulder suddenly and pointed to the Hokage who was going on about how the chunnin exams were the way to prepare the genin to the horrors of war. After paying attention for a few minutes Naruto was soon distracted by Gaara who was staring at him from the corner of his eye.

"**KIT PLEASE BE CAREFUL MY BROTHER DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME CONTROL OVER HIS POWER AS I DO, HIS JAILOR IS UNSTABLE" **Kyuubi said in his mind as Naruto stared right back at the sand demon jailor.

Naruto gulped "How would they become stable"

"**THE ONLY WAY FOR THE JAILOR TO BECOME MORE STABLE IS TO ACTUALLY MEET HIS DEMON WITHIN HIS SEAL AND CREATE A LINK-LIKE WE HAVE" **Naruto nodded and then paid attention when a sickly looking man jumped down in front of the Hokage and began whispering to the elder man before he turned and faced them.

"Hello everyone, I am Hayatte Gekko I am the proctor for the third exam, but unlike previous years we have to many genin who passed the first two exams, which means...we need to hold preliminaries" Naruto sighed and looked at the genin who had only got in that day and shook his head, they wouldn't be able to fight to the best of their abilities at that moment "So if anyone would like to pull out, now would be the right time"

Someone sighed and Kabuto put up his hand and scratched the side of his cheek "I'm sorry but I can't go on, I'm to worn out" Hayatte looked at Anko who then called out his name and dismissed him. Naruto watched him go with a slight confusion, from what he could tell the genin who had just left was perfectly healthy if not a little tired, he could have fought easily.

"Very well, when your name appears on the board you will come down here and will fight until one of you dies or I call the match, if your name is not called you may wait up on the balconies with your Jonin sensei" Hayatte as a digital board began to scroll through all the names of the competitors until it landed on Sasuke and Yori a man from Kabuto's team.

"Right off the bat" Sasuke said smiling as he cracked his neck making Sakura roll her eyes and start towards the balcony while Naruto just looked at him "What?"

"Just...don't lose I didn't teach you one of my favourite Tai Jut-Su moves for nothing" the blonde said as Kakashi herded him up to the balcony where Sakura was already waiting for them next to Gai and Lee who were already talking excitedly with her why she gave Tenten pleading looks for help to which she just shrugged helplessly.

_Why would Naruto say something like that, my strength is in Nin Jut-su, yet he commented on my Tai Jut-su _Sasuke thought as the older ninja stood before him. Hayatte looked between the two of them before signalling the fight to begin. Sasuke dodged a frontal attack from Yori and then began running through hand signs only for the man to grab his arm and cancel out his jut-Su. Frustrated Sasuke broke free only to feel slightly light headed as if someone had sapped his strength. _Does Naruto know something about this guy and his fighting style?_ He thought as he shook away the fuzzy feeling racing through his head

Yori laughed and held up his right hand which was glowing slightly "My family has a special ability, it allows me drain your chakra from your body if I grab you with this hand of mind, and guess what it works even better if the victim is using Nin Jut-su" the man said before he raced toward him.

Sasuke jumped away and looked at Naruto who gave him a tiny nod and then smirked _Thanks Naruto_ he said before landing a meter away from his opponent and then took a deep breath. _Okay flow through each move, while putting all my strength and chakra behind it_. Lee watched as Sasuke ran forward and kicked the man up into the air before kicking him around in an orb before leaping above him once more and giving him a slamming kick to the ground before latching on to him and hit him like a lion catching his prey. "Lion Barrage Sphere Shot"

Naruto laughed and shook his head why Lee just stared in awe why Gai gave Kakashi a piercing look. "You taught him the sphere shot?"

Kakashi shook his head and pointed at Naruto who just looked down guiltily "no, Kakashi sensei didn't, I did" he admitted as he watched Sasuke walk confidently up the stairs and towards his team where Sakura congratulated him before starring at the board in anticipation.

Gai looked stern for a moment before his face split out in a huge grin "THE YOUTH BURNS BRIGHT IN THIS ONE DON"T YOU BELIEVE LEE!" he shouted making Naruto take a step back in fear.

"Yes Gai sensei my rival truly is worthy" Lee cried before hugging his sensei tight why Kakashi and Naruto sighed and turned their attention back to the field. Naruto looked down and Saw a sound ninja going up against Shino and just looked away.

"This isn't going to be pretty" Naruto whispered.

When Naruto had said it wasn't going to be pretty he hadn't been lying, the fight had only taken mere moments, resulting with Zaku the sound ninja having his arms blown apart. As the battle finished Zabuza appeared behind them and gave Naruto a small smile before motioning to his back. Naruto nodded and Zabuza then looked down to the field where Temari and Tenten where standing.

"This will be interesting" Naruto whispered and his teammates nodded making both Jonin stare at them confused.

Temari smirked as she looked at Tenten who looked at her confidently. _This will be a synch _she thought as Hayatte motioned for the match to start. Tenten jumped back a few meters and then threw a shurkien and kunai at the sand shinobi. But when they hit the ground a foot from the girl she gasped. Gai shook his head and tightened his grip on the bars.

"There is no way Tenten missed, she has perfect aim" he muttered, Sasuke looked at Naruto who was watching the battle with interest and then looked at Gai who was explaining something to Neji.

"She didn't miss" he said when suddenly a huge gust of wind blew several weapons back at Tenten. "She blew them away" he continued as Temari swept her fan back only opening it a quarter of the way revealing one purple moon.

"You see this moon, there are three of them, when you see all three you lose" Temari said holing out her fan with a smirk on her face. Tenten grit her teeth and whipped out a scroll and jumping into the air with it and summoning weapon after weapon and ditching them at the wind mistress who just sighed and waved her want sending the weapons flying towards their owner who managed to dodged them all. "There's the second moon" Temari said as she opened the fan to half way revealing the second moon.

"The truth is, Tenten couldn't have drawn a worse opponent, Temari is basically the worst person she could have started fighting, Tenten has already lost" Naruto said looking down sadly. Gai looked down at the field and then down at Naruto.

_Could he have already figured all that out in the heat of battle, in no way is he a strategist but to be able to figure all that out in the heat of battle, he would make a really good teammate _The Jonin said before smiling at Naruto who became dazed once again "Nonsense Tenten has the power of youth on her side"

Naruto rolled his eyes and then focused on the fight below and cocked his head to the side when the weapon mistress brought out two scrolls and placed them on the floor and ran through several hand signs before leaping up between the two scrolls that had released in the form of two dragons. Temari sighed as Tenten began throwing all different types of weapons at her and then flicked her fan out to reveal all three moons and swung it powerfully. Sending all the weapons to the floor.

"Times up girlie hope you had your fun" Temari mocked as she jumped onto her fan and glided until she was behind Tenten. "Wind Scythe Jut-Su" she called swinging her fan and catching Tenten in a mini tornado which began slashing Tenten while she screamed in pain. When the wind mistress cancelled the Jut-su Naruto watched sadly as she caught Tenten on her fan on her back making Lee and Gai gasp, even Neji was shocked at the brutality that Temari had shown.

"Humph that was boring" she said sliding Tenten to the ground as if she was something she stepped on. Naruto fixed his gaze onto Temari, who stilled when she felt it, when she looked around and looked into Naruto's eyes she couldn't help but gulp when she saw the anger there simmering dangerously.

Hayatte stared at the digital board before coughing and pointing at the new competitors "Shikamaru Nara and Kin please come down"

Naruto smiled when he heard Shikamaru groan and couldn't stop the snigger that burst through when he heard Kyuubi laughed loudly. "Kyu shut up"

"**SORRY KIT, ITS JUST, THE SLACKER HAS TO FIGHT A GIRL DOESN'T HE" **The giant fox said before cracking up once again making Naruto just shake his head and focus on the match below him. The fight didn't last long and surprisingly Shikamaru was the winner, although out of all the genin there it seemed only Naruto and Chouji were the least surprised. Naruto gave Shikamaru and smile and nod to which he just gave a half hearted wave. "Sakura" Kakashi said making Naruto whip around and see that his pink haired teammate was next facing...Ino Yakamara. Sakura took a deep breath and jumped down in the railings opposite Ino who was already waiting for her with a sneer on her face.

"Fight" Hayatte said and the two girls leapt at each other.

_Sakura's gotten better but is she good enough to beat Ino _Naruto thought as he watched the pink haired girl kick Ino hard enough to send her flying back a few meters. "I wonder do you think she'll use it" he asked Sasuke who smirked and nodded.

Kakashi smiled and gave Zabuza a shrug who was watching the young girl he had called week only months earlier go up against her best friend. Gaara watched the pink haired girl in interest, ever since he had seen her before the exams with the one like himself he had been drawn to her but now that he was seeing her in battle he was even more fascinated.

Ino smirked as she caught Sakura in her hair line but then was shocked when the pink haired girl brought out a dozen kunai with what looked like small pink orbs on the end of them. "Go On Sakura show her" Naruto called out to the girl who then nodded and then looked at Ino and shrugged.

"And I really wanted to win" she said before throwing the kunai so that the orbs would explode and litter the floor with what looked like confetti. Sasuke stared at Sakura and at how close some of the paper was to her and looked at Naruto's sad face. "What's going on" he demanded.

Naruto gave Sasuke a sad look before turning back to the match where Sakura was running through several hand signs, "When Sakura designed this Jut-su she asked me how it could be used, I told her and made sure she knew it could also be a suicide jut-su if placed right, Sakura knows she can't beat Ino she isn't that strong yet, so she at least wants to tie with her to show Ino she isn't the small little helpless child she was all those years ago" Sasuke frowned but nodded and turned back to the match were Sakura hand stopped on the Hebi sign and then smirked at Ino who was watching her confused.

"Sakura Blizzard jut-Su" Ino was shocked when all the small pieces of paper began to glow pink before they exploded. All around her knocking her out when suddenly they exploded hard enough to send Sakura flying into the wall knocking her out as well.

"Paper bombs" Gai said in awe "That was amazing, if not a double edged sword" he said as Hayatte declared the match a tie so no one would advance.

Naruto shook his head and lent on the bars comfortably "Not really you see normally that Jut-su would be used at a distance but Sakura knew it was the only way for Ino not to win as well" he said as Kakashi brought Sakura up to rest against the wall. The Tai Jut-su specialist nodded and turned to watch the next match which was between Kankuro and the other genin on Kabuto's team. Naruto watched in awe as Kankuro defeated the man with his puppet by changing places with it and making it look exactly like him.

"Winner Kankuro" Hayatte said as Kankuro walked back up to his place next to Gaara. Naruto stared after the puppet master and then looked at Gaara who was staring at him with an interested expression. When he looked at the red head he saw a part of himself, he saw Kitsune.

Sakura stretched out and allowed Sasuke to help her up and gasped when she read the two names on the board. "Naruto" she whispered making the blonde turn and then freeze when he read who his opponent was.

"Kiba Inuzuka Naruto Uzumaki please come down" Hayatte said staring at Naruto with interest. He had been told to keep an eye on the boy's match by Anko who swore that the boy had fatally injured Orochimaru earlier in the exam.

Naruto sighed and jumped down and face Kiba who had Akamaru by his side who was barking at Naruto happily. Naruto grinned at the little puppy then gave Kiba a serious look "No holding back come at me full force" Kiba gulped and nodded. Hayatte signalled the match to begin and Kiba immediately activated his beast mimicry all fours jut-su.

"Surely Naruto can't beat that kind of fighting" Gai said in a shocked voice as he watched Naruto dodge all of Kiba's moves gracefully.

"Wrong" Zabuza said crossing his arms "Naruto is probably the only one who can match the Inuzuka's style of fighting and come out of it unscratched" Kakashi nodded and watched as Naruto grabbed Kiba and threw him into a wall.

Kiba groaned and then whistled to Akamaru who raced to him side "Have a food pill boy" he said making the tiny puppy turned bright red and more ferocious. Naruto saw this and sighed before running through several hand signs.

"Well if were fighting with pups I don't want to be left behind" He said before slamming his hand on the ground. Kiba watched in fear as steam began rising from underneath the blonde palm and then fire erupted from around it, Naruto slowly brought his hand up and then as if magic molten lava took on the form a wolf pup which was slightly larger than Akamaru. "Elemental Wolf Pup Jut-su: Kumio Fire pup" Naruto said as the rock turned into fur and the wolf became a real wolf pup although it's eyes stayed as two molten pools of lava while he had lines of lava running over his body. "Shall we continue" He said before rushing forward and punching Kiba in the stomach while Kumio leapt on Akamaru and slashed down leaving a large burning slash marks on the floor when he missed.

Kiba frowned and used fang over fang sending Naruto flying into the nearby wall. "yeah I did it" he cheered only to here a snarling and saw Kumio had pinned Akamaru and had his throat in his jaws ready to kill the pup at a moment's notice. "What?" Kiba said confused.

"You know one attack really isn't going to do the trick with me" Kiba froze and looked back and saw Naruto picking himself out of the rubble and then cracked his knuckles, "Now let's end this" he said before running through a long series of hand signs.

"That little brat I can't believe he knows that" Zabuza said laughing as he recognized the hand signs. Kakashi nodded in shock as he saw how powerful Naruto had become without his guidance.

Naruto looked up at Kiba and smirked before two giant wings that looked identical to Valor's exploded from his back "Wings of Courage Jut-su" he said before he leapt up into the sky and began to shine brightly before being enveloped in a orange glow "Sky attack Jut-su" he said before his wings wrapped around his body and he began spinning and dived towards the dog handler. When Kiba tried to move he saw Kumio had trapped him by biting one of his legs why Akamaru laid unconscious on the floor a meter away with large burn marks around his throat. "NEVER UNDERESTIMATE ME!" Naruto shouted right before he hit Kiba head on.

A large explosion filled the arena kicking up dust everywhere and when it cleared they saw Naruto who was sporting a gash on his hairline, standing above an unconscious Kiba with Kumio on his shoulder. "Thanks buddy" he whispered scratching underneath the fire pup's chin before it howled and faded into a small spark of fire on Naruto's jacket which he quickly put out. "Winner Naruto Uzumaki" Hayatte declared as the medics took Kiba away who was groaning in pain. "You did good Kiba" Naruto whispered before leaping back onto the balcony where Zabuza hit him on the head.

"WHEN THE FUCK DID YOU LEARN THAT MOVE YOU GODDAMN IDIOT!" Zabuza shouted at Naruto.

"IT WAS NONE OF YOUR GODMAN BUSINESS YOU NO EYEBORWS FREAK" Zabuza was about the strangle the blonde genin when Hayatte coughed and pointed to the electronic board which displayed the next to fighters: Hinata Hyuga Vs Neji Hyuga.

Naruto gulped and looked at Neji and then at Hinata who was a pale as a white piece of paper, this fight was going to be a blood bath. Thanks to his days as Kitsune and working with various Hyuga's Naruto knew the bad blood between the main family and the branch family, and he knew that Hinata was a main family member and Neji was a branch member.  
"This won't end well"

Lee nodded and then stood next to Naruto who was quickly becoming his best friend and winced as he heard Neji hurl insults at his younger cousin. But Naruto watched with pride as the Hyuga princess fought back with everything she had and even managed to land a few decent hits of her own, but even with all her skill Hinata wasn't a prodigy of the Byukugan like Neji and after a fatal hit to the heart she fell and didn't get up again.

"You're not worthy of your status" Neji sneered at his younger cousin only to be twirled around and glared at by a fierce blue eye leaking dangerous killer intent.

'I swear this to you Neji you better hope we don't met in the finals...or I will kill you" Naruto growled before grabbing Hinata and rushing to the infirmary where the medics were waiting for the young Hyuga. After giving Hinata to the medics Naruto went over to Kiba's bed and sat down and smiled at the Inuzuka who was still resting before lying a scroll out on the desk next to him and quickly scribbling a note on a spare piece of paper.

When Naruto got back to the arena he stopped halfway up the balcony when he saw Neji was standing next to his team. _I'll stand here_ he thought and then looked to the side where Kankuro was making his way up the stairs towards him.

"Ah Naruto was it" the puppet master asked nervously when he saw Gaara glaring at him.

"Before you asked, yes...I am like him" Naruto said not taking his eyes of the electronic board when Gaara's name and Rock lee's name froze onto the screen.

Kankuro stared in horror at Naruto before gulping and moving a little closer to him "but you don't seem as...unstable as Gaara is" he said as Lee jumped down into the arena facing Gaara who just stared at him.

"Because unlike him, I have an understanding with mine, unlike Gaara's who feeds off him like a parasite" Naruto said as Hayatte explained the rules to him "He needs to speak with it before he can live with it"

Kankuro stared at Naruto for a second before gulping and turning to the battle and scoffing "That spandex wearing guy is going down"

"Wrong" Kankuro stared at Naruto in shock before giving Lee another look "Lee might not look like much but trust me your brother's sand...it might not be enough to protect him"

Lee rushed forward and began to fight with everything he had only to be blocked by a wall of sand everytime. Kankuro was about to laughed as Lee ran away from Gaara's sand when he jumped atop the large statue.

"And here we go" Naruto whispered when Lee dropped two large leg weights, let's see how ultimate he's defence is once something is fast enough to get past them" Kankuro scoffed again and then shut up when Lee blurred from eye sight and began his assault again but this time only just getting blocked by the sand. Suddenly Lee slammed his feet down on Gaara's head making him stumble a little.

"No way had he hit him "Kankuro whispered and they looked at Naruto who was watching the battle carefully his eyes scanning every move "and you knew he would be able to"

Naruto nodded and continued to watch. Kyuubi was on edge and was making him on edge but when lee preformed the Lotus and failed to beat Gaara Naruto knew even if he used the gates that the fighter was finished. "Gaara will win" Naruto whispered

Kankuro stared at Naruto in shock as he watched lee open a bunch of gates and perform the Lotus once more and once again Gaara had survived and was sending his sand after him. When the sand enveloped his right arm and leg Naruto's arms went wide when he saw Gaara squeeze his fist tight and then heard a sickly crushing sound. "LEE!" Naruto screamed making Gai stare over at him in fear. Temari looked over at Kankuro who was staring at Naruto with nothing short of shock in his eyes, and then gulped it was as they'd suspected Gaara was interested in the blonde because he was like himself. When Gaara began to send his sand back after him Naruto looked at Gai and nodded and the both of them jumped down. Gai stopped the sand from touching Lee why Naruto stepped on Gaara's hand forcing him to stop his Jut-su.

"You won, stop" he hissed letting some of Kyuubi's chakra leak out. Gaara's eyes went wide and Naruto could tell Shukaku would have been happy to feel his older brother so much he would have submitted almost instantly. Naruto glared once more at Gaara before walking over to the medics who were standing near Gai and only caught the last part of the conversation "I'm sorry but he'll never be a ninja again" Naruto froze and he stared at lee as his body was taken pass him on a stretcher and then looked up at Gai who was crying and laid a hand on his arm.

"I will help him I swear to you Gai Sensei I swear you'll get your student back" he said with so much conviction Gai couldn't help but believe him. Gai nodded and appeared with his team up on the balcony why Naruto walked back to the stairs where Kankuro was waiting. "Your brother needs help tell him Naruto will find a way to reach him" Naruto said before walking back to his team who were scared and horrified by what they just saw.

Naruto watched as Gaara appeared back with his siblings but continued to watch him and Sakura and then began forming a plan with Kyuubi's help. When he reached his team he gave Sasuke a nod and then motioned Sakura over "When all this is over I have a favour to ask" Sakura nodded wordlessly and then went back to Sasuke who gave her a confused look which she just shook her head and Naruto was glad to have such an intelligent teammate.

Zabuza motioned for Naruto to show his back to him and with a sigh he began shedding his top layer of clothing. When he took off his Jacket Neji was shocked when Tenten sighed happily as the form fitting shirt revealed the blondes hard earned muscles. Temari smirked and leant forward to get a better glimpse at the blonde ninja. Naruto sighed and took off his shirt making Ino squeal and Sasuke had to hold back laughter, but when he saw a black marking on his ribs and his shoulders he twirled Naruto around until his back was facing them. Kakashi stared in shock as he gaze upon the full back tattoo of the nine tailed fox on his student while Sasuke just stared in awe. Sakura who had already seen it made Naruto quickly throw his shirt back on and gave both Sasuke and Kakashi a glare as the last fight was halfway through. Naruto finished dressing and was saddened to see that Chouji had lost to the sound ninja but then shrugged.

"Will the finalist's please make their way down to the arena" Hayatte said "The Hokage would like to explain the final exam to you" Naruto shrugged and began to walk down with Sasuke to stand in front of The Hokage who smiled brightly down at all of them.

"Congratulations everyone for making it this far, now I will explain the final tournament to you, each of you will take turns taking a piece of paper from this box" he said pointing to Ibiki who was holding a plain black box with a hole in the top of it. "On each piece of paper is a number, then you will be drawn up into a match up sheet according to the number you draw" The Hokage said shrugging

"Wait if it's a fighting tournament does that mean that there is only going to be one chunnin at the end of it?" The Hokage shook his head at Shikamaru's question and then looked at each genin closely.

"When we hold the final round of the exams we invite a lot of feudal lords and leaders from other lands, this is because the chunnin exams isn't just about beating your opponent: it's about showing off your potential and skills to those leader who will in turn take interest in you and then hire you for work. Among the lords and civilians in the stands will be proctors who will be watching your performances and judging if your Chunnin material and of course the further you go in the tournament the more chances you have to show off your skills and get noticed" Shikamaru nodded and Anko stepped forward and cleared her throat "Okay please when you get your number call it out so I can draw up the match sheet"

Ibiki walked along the line until each person had a piece of paper and the Anko looked at Naruto who was at the start of the line, "One" he said

Sasuke grunted and then held up his piece "Four"

Shino pressed his glasses back up and then spoke very softly "five"

Neji sniffed and then looked away uninterestedly "Two" Naruto gritted his teeth and held his temper in check; he would be fighting Neji first.

Shikamaru groaned and held up his paper "seven"

Temari looked at Shikamaru and then smirked "Eight"

Kankuro held up his paper between two fingers and smiled "Six"

Gaara stayed silent for a moment before speaking "Three"

Dosu snorted and looked away "Guess that mean's I'm nine"

Anko nodded and then quickly wrote something on her clip board before holding it up "This is the match line up, remember it well"

NARUTO UZUMAKI vs. NEJI HYUGA

GAARA vs. SASUKE UCHIHA

SHINO ABURAME vs. KANKURO

SHIKAMARU NARA vs. TEMARI

DOSU vs. MATCH 4 VICTOR

Naruto looked at Neji and then nodded once before turning to look at the Hokage once more "The final exam will be held one month from now, so in that month I expect you all to train harder than ever before" The Hokage said smiling "Good Luck"

Naruto nodded and then turned to Sasuke who gave him a cocky grin before leaving the tower why Sakura jumped down to speak to him.


	11. Training Begins

**Chapter 10- Gamakichi, Jiraiya and Naruto: Training?**

Naruto pulled Sakura through the village until they reached a secluded spot where he sat down and motioned for the pink haired ninja to do the same. As Sakura sat down Naruto ran a hand over his face and then looked at Sakura with a serious expression.

'I don't think the sand trio are here just for the chunnin exams" Sakura looked at Naruto like he had grown another head but then motioned for him to continue "and I need someone to watch them for the month that I'm training"

Sakura nodded in understanding "I get it, but I almost failed spying I'm just no good at it you know that" she said shrugging.

Naruto smirked and pulled out a beautiful necklace with a red dragon pendant on the end of it "I never said you'd have to spy" Sakura gave Naruto a confused look as he held the necklace in front of her. "I want you to spend the next month with them"

Sakura gasped at Naruto and then shook her head "Are you nuts like they'd let me stay with them, that Gaara guy would probably kill me the minute he saw me" she hissed at the blonde who had saved her life more times then she could count.

"No he won't, if you wear this necklace he won't be able to in fact I can swear that you will be in perfect condition in one month's time if you wear this necklace at all times" he said confidently, Sakura gave him a disbelieving look but then sighed and nodded.

'What will it entail?" Naruto gave Sakura a beaming smile before walking and putting the necklace on around her neck letting the dragon fall lightly.

"Do you have anything...seductive" Sakura gave Naruto a strange look but then nodded "Good let's go put it on" he said taking Sakura's hand and started pulling her to her house.

When they got to her house and into her room Sakura had Naruto wait on the bed why she changed in the bathroom, and when she came out Naruto smiled. Sakura was wearing a tight short pale pink and white Lolita style dress with white mesh at the front and a corset back which pushed her cleavage up so that the pendant rested their comfortably. On her feet were small little pink and white pixie boots. "Seriously why am I dressed in this?" she asked putting her hands on her tiny waist.

"Your gonna kind of seduce Gaara I guess" Naruto said putting his hands on her shoulders and gave her a very serious look. But no matter how serious he looked Sakura burst out into laughter and then looked back up at Naruto "I'm being serious"

"You're kidding right, that guy has no emotions and even if he did, why would he want me?" Naruto pushed Sakura in front of a mirror and smiled "Look at yourself Sakura, your beautiful and trust me Gaara was watching you before so just imagine what he'd do now" Sakura smiled shyly at Naruto through the mirror and pushed some hair behind her ear.

"Why aren't you reacting if I'm so beautiful?" she mocked and Naruto smiled softly and ran a hand over his face before sitting down on her bed and chuckled a bit.

"That's because ah, I'm gay" Sakura stared at Naruto and then hugged him "Your the first one I've told, I mean I'm not 100% sure but I find men more attractive to women so" he said shaking, "and anyway you're like my sister that's just weird if I found you attractive"

Sakura laughed and then sat down before sighing "Okay I'll do it"

Naruto smiled and then reached into his pouch and withdrew a scroll and when he smeared blood on it a beautiful black hooded cloak appeared. "Use this to get to their apartment without being noticed, and Sakura, I need you to do whatever it takes to keep Gaara interested In you" Sakura nodded and then hugged Naruto tightly.

"Will I see you at all this next month" She asked as she sat down looking at her hands and smoothed out her skirt.

Naruto shook his head and bent down in front of her and took her hands "No I have to stay away from you, now this is going to probably piss you off, but I need you to keep this mission a secret from everyone, I want you to tell no one" Sakura nodded and Naruto touched her on the side of the face softly "Don't worry I'll be checking up on you even if you don't know it" Sakura laughed and nodded.

Naruto stood up and sighed 'I need to find Kakashi sensei, I need to start training I need to beat Neji" he said before kissing Sakura on the forehead 'You'll do great" he whispered.

Sakura nodded "I have to start getting ready if I want to enthral this guy I have to be a knockout" Naruto nodded and then jumped out the window and started leaping towards the Hokage's tower.

When Naruto arrived at the tower he saw Kakashi standing talking to a chunnin who then nodded and ran off. "Kakashi Sensei" Naruto called out before running towards him "Good thing I found you we need to start training right away"

"Ah no we don't" Kakashi said in a distracted voice making Naruto totally confused, what'd he mean they didn't need to start training.

"What'd you mean?"

Kakashi sighed and looked up at Naruto "I'm not training you Naruto I have to train Sasuke and plus I don't have time for your annoying nagging" Kakashi said as he reached the end of his nerves not even noticing how harsh he sounded.

Naruto felt his whole life shatter as the words Kakashi just said ran through his head over and over, "Kakashi sensei?" he asked in a small voice.

'Look I'll find you a new teach-"

"No" Naruto snarled shocking Kakashi with the hate behind that one word "I don't want some teacher you just scraped up because you can't be bothered dealing with me, I'd rather find one of my own" the with one last glare he turned around and walked out of the tower leaving a really shocked Kakashi in his wake.

Zabuza who had been leaning on the wall just behind the small blonde genin shook his head as he walked towards Kakashi who was just staring at the spot his pupil had just been in. "You really screwed up Hatake" Kakashi looked at Zabuza confused look "That boy has a fragile trust issue and you just shattered yours, don't you think he has been insulted enough for one lifetime and I know for a fact that he really trusted you, and for you to go and say something like that...let's just say it would be like getting a knife to the heart" Kakashi stared at Zabuza for a second before he swallowed deeply and then shook his head.

"I didn't mean it like that, I'm frustrated and I took it out on him" he said in a sad voice, Zabuza sighed and clapped him on the back

"Who knows maybe he'll trust you again" Zabuza said before walking off to his lessons where his class were waiting for him.

Naruto started walking aimlessly and then sighed, never before had anyone's insults hit him as hard as Kakashi's had. He idolized Kakashi hell he thought of the silver haired ninja like he did Ookami: like a big brother he could trust.

"**KIT, WHY DON'T YOU GO TO THE HOT SPRINGS AND START RELAXING, YOU HAVEN'T GONE IN AWHILE" ** Kyuubi said in a comforting tone as he sensed his 'Little Brother's emotional overload coming on.

Naruto tapped his chin and then looked down and saw how dirty he was before chuckling, "I think your right, I do need a bath and it's not every day that I get a hot water bath" he said jumping on the rooftops until he reached the hot spring.

Luckily for Naruto the lady who managed the hot spring actually like Naruto something about him looking like her dead grandson who had died at the tender age of fifteen in the 3rd shinobi war. So when he went the lady always treated him differently.

"Ah Naruto my boy come here and let me look at you" the woman said stepping out from behind the counter and rushing over to Naruto who just chuckled and let the woman fuss over him. "Look at you so tall, what have you been eating" the older woman said as she looked him up and down "Oh but I guess it has been awhile since we saw you around here"

Naruto nodded and then let Kikio lead him to a single hot spring "Thank you Kikio" Naruto said as he went to get changed. The elder woman smiled and nodded before yelling at the cleaners to get back to work.

Naruto sunk into the water and sigh letting all of his troubles float away from him as he soaked in the water washing away five days of dirt. "I'll find a great sensei and beat Sasuke during the exams and show Kakashi sensei that he was wrong to doubt me"

After soaking for a little while Naruto got out and quickly got changed but didn't pull his headband over his right as now the scarring was finally all healed and it didn't need to be hidden from view anymore. As he hugged Kikio goodbye and waved goodbye to all the spring helpers he heard a very familiar voice ring out. "YOU STOP YOUR PERVERTED ACTS NOW"

Naruto cocked his head to the side and walked around the corner and was just in time to see Ebisu get knocked out by the tongue of a large toad. When he started laughing the man sitting on the toad looked around and stared at him with realization and then smirked and directed the toad to leap over to Naruto who was holding the side of the building to keep himself standing upright.

"You thought that was funny?" he asked his long white hair flowing down his back in a ponytail. Naruto nodded and then lent against the toad that didn't seem to hate it and actually used it's tongue to keep him upright.

Naruto wiped his eyes before patting the tongue around him "yeah because that guy is a closet pervert himself" Naruto said smiling at the man who was wearing a headband with the kanji for Oil on it.

"You don't say" he said looking Naruto up and down "Who are you kid" he asked jumping from the toads head and dispelling it.

Naruto smiled and gave the man a quick salute "I am Naruto Uzumaki, most unpredictable ninja in the whole village, and you are" he said smiling happily.

The man laughed and thumped Naruto on the back making him stumble a few steps before rubbing his hands together "I am Jiraiya: Sannin of the Leaf village and sage of the great mountain toad sage" he said doing a big dance while Naruto just stared at him.

'Oh so you're a Pervy sage are you" He asked cocking his head to the side. Jiraiya fell to the floor and took out a book Naruto would know any where "I know that book I've read it"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto in shock and then smiled "Yeah right kid I wrote this book and I happen to know that it's for 18 years and over" Naruto nodded and then held up a finger.

"That is true but my sensei is Kakashi Hatake" Jiraiya nodded and then sighed "Hey mister"

The toad sage looked over his shoulder at Naruto who was smiling happily "because my sense is too busy with Sasuke to train me for the chunnin exams I was wondering if you'd do it"

Jiraiya stared at Naruto for a moment before frowning _The Kakashi Hatake I know would never leave anyone out to dry like that, _he thought before nodding "Sure" Naruto jumped up and cheered and then stilled when Jiraiya threw his arm around his shoulders "now to celebrate your achievement of gaining Me as your sensei I am going to drink sake with you"

Naruto scratched his head as the white haired man lead them to a bar "Ah Pervy Sage...I'm not legal yet" he said in an annoyed voice.

"Don't call me that you brat! And anyway you're a ninja your an adult in my eyes" Jiraiya said bopping Naruto on the head when he called him Pervy sage.

"Yeah sure Pervy Sage, I bet you I could drink you under the table and I'm not even thirteen yet" Naruto said as the entered the bar.

Shikaku Nara was sitting at the bar with Chouza and Inochi when Jiraiya and Naruto entered the room and then chuckled when he saw the two of them arguing "Hey Uzumaki" he called out in a lazy drawl. Naruto looked up from his seat and grinned at the elder Nara "I heard about you preliminary battle: Very nice" Naruto grinned and nodded back at him as the waitress put a bottle of sake on the bench not even caring that Naruto was basically five years underage.

Shikaku motioned for the others to join him as they moved over to where Jiraiya and Naruto were sitting and then clapped the toad sage on the back in greeting.

Naruto laughed as they shared old war stories and started knocking back the clear liquid with the elder shinobi, and then grinned at Jiraiya who was now locked in an arm wrestle with Chouza. "Hey wanna bet with us" Inochi asked the blonde who nodded and put 500 ryou on Jiraiya.

A few blocks over Sakura took a deep breath and tied the cloak Naruto had given her around her neck. It was sunset now, and she had spent all day getting ready for this moment, and it was finally time to put her mission into action. Pulling up her hood and keeping her head down Sakura walked out her front door locking it knowing her mother would be in the rain country for a good two months, and began walking down the street with her head down, a few minutes later she walked into a wall of flesh.

"Are you alright" Sakura inwardly groaned when she heard Sasuke's voice and instead of facing him bowed her head even further to the ground and curtsied "I am very sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going"

"Oh it's okay isn't it Sasuke, we were a little preoccupied ourselves" There was Kakashi but where was Naruto? Sakura shook her head and lifted her head a little so that he head was still covered but she would be able to see.

"Thank you kind ninja, but I really must be going" she said but before she could move Sasuke grabbed her wrist and inhaled.

"Why are you wearing perfume...expensive perfume" Sakura bit her lip and quickly thought up an excuse and winced when she came up with her most believable one. So turning to Kakashi she cleared her throat and stage whispered to him.

"I'm going to late for my...appointment" she hissed making Kakashi blush and nod.

'Sasuke this young lady is keeping a young man waiting and it would be very bad if she kept him so, let's go" Sasuke frowned and complied but not before spying a lock of pink hair as the woman floated by with all the grace of a panther. "Sasuke that girl was a hire girl, a very expensive one, probably for one of the visiting sensei's or even genin who haven't left the village yet" he explained.

Sakura took a deep breath of relief and then continued on her way to Gaara's house, and when she reached there she flung her robe back revealing her body but not her face and knocked on the door. "Coming" yelled a deep but boyish voice, and when the door opened Sakura was staring into the make-up less face of the puppet user who didn't have his car eared hat on revealing his head of messy brown hair.

Kankuro looked the young beauty's body up and down and then smirked and lent against the door frame "hello cutie you lost?"

"Not quite I was asked to give a message to Gaara, although seeing you well...that's a bonus" she said in a seductive voice making the man cough embarrassed and then turned to face the inside.

"Gaara you have a messenger" he yelled out before turning back and smiling at the girl who still hadn't revealed her face to him yet. "So what's your nam-"

"Kankuro, what are you doing" the puppet master froze and then smiled sadly at Sakura and gave her body one more longing look before walking back inside until Sakura was alone with Gaara. "Give me your message and then leave"

Sakura sighed and pulled back her hood revealing her face and noted that the red head's eyes widened slightly "Gaara, Naruto has sent me to you and told me that you are to take care of me for the month he is away training, he would trust no other"

The sand wielder looked at the pendant around her neck, pulled her inside and then began circling the pink haired beauty "why would he send you to me" he hissed as Temari and Kankuro came to investigate.

To say Kankuro was shocked and thoroughly pleased when he saw Sakura behind the hood was an understatement. "I don't know, he merely told me that he would not be able to watch over me this month as he is to focus on training the whole time, he's not even going to be in the village that much at all, and he would not have me unprotected this whole month so he sent me to you saying that you would protect me to the greatest extent" she said without pause not even stuttering as Gaara stalked around her.

"What are you to him" the red head hissed coming to stand directly in front of her, his jade eyes piercing her own emerald.

Sakura's eyes analysed his own and then she smiled a little before leaning forward the whisper in his ear "Sister" she said before leaning back and stared at Gaara expectantly "Will you do as he asks will you protect me?"

Gaara looked her up and down and walked towards his bedroom "Temari get her some Suna clothing, she will sleep in my room, Kankuro...you will be her guard from now on, where she goes you will go is that understood" he said glaring at his two siblings. Both of them nodded and then looked at Sakura in awe who just stood with her head held high her eyes stony before she turned and faced them and bowed a little which gave Kankuro a great view of her cleavage.

"Please take care of me for a while to the best of your abilities" Temari's eyes softened and she nodded while Kankuro smiled and looked her up and down again.

"This month is gonna be fun" he said and Sakura looked up and gave him a coy smile

"Oh you have no idea"

Naruto woke up the next morning next to Kotsue and found he was only in his boxers and that the whole night was fuzzy, as he tried to remember what had happened he got off the bed making the chunnin groaned and roll over but thankfully stay asleep. "Kyu can you jog my memory for me"

"**AH KIT MAYBE YOU SHOULD GET AWAY FROM THE SLEEPING CHUNNIN BEFORE I TELL YOU" **Naruto frown but nodded and when he was fully dressed he leapt out of the window until he was sitting on a water tank.

"Okay Kyu show me"

"**OKAY KIT BUT JUST DON'T SCREAM" **

_Flashback_

_Naruto sat with Shikaku, Chouza, Inochi and Jiraiya and yelled out in joy as his new mentor once again won the arm wrestle and he was now two thousand ryou richer. "My Sensei is the best" he said happily as he high fived the sannin over the table who he split his winnings with. _

_The two of them had entered the bar an few hours ago and Jiraiya had gotten the young genin as drunk as he could be with the Kyuubi helping the alcohol burn through his system and then got him to confess what Kakashi had said to him making the white haired Sannin try to stand up to quickly and exclaim that he would teach the Sharingan wielding scarecrow a lesson when he tripped and ended up toppling onto Izsum and Kotsue's table. _

'_Sorry boy's your welcome to join us though" The toad sage said dragging their splintered table over to theirs. The two chunnin shrugged and sat down on either side of Naruto who was in a drinking contest with Shikaku and was winning. _

"_Wow he can really knock it back can't he" a half drunk Kotsue said as he knocked back another shot, and smirked at the elder Nara who did so albeit slower than he did. _

"_Yep my student, he's so very talented" Jiraiya said as tears leaked out of his eyes "Go on Naruto show them who's the sake king" he said. _

_Naruto grinned drunkenly at his teacher and gave him a thumbs up before knocking back another shot. But this time the elder Nara shook his head and held his hand out to Naruto who grinned triumphal and shook his hand before picking up another shot of sake and clinking his glass with Kotsue. _

_Flashback_

Naruto frowned and shook his head, that was pretty tame but that doesn't tell him why he woke up in Kotsue's room with his clothes strewn all around the room with him lying with his boxer pulled on lazily so the hung off his hips. "Okay let's go a little further in the night" he whispered and shut his eyes again.

_Flashback_

_Naruto leant against Kotsue stumbling, and laughing as they knocked over a trash can, and then he put a finger to his lips and began loudly sshing the chunnin. "Quiet ninja's are quiet" he whispered quite loudly making the chunnin laugh again as they stumbled into his house. _

"_yeah but now were home, we can be as loud as we want" he said loudly making Naruto laugh again, before jumping over the couch and running into the bedroom where he stripped his jacket and then used his chakra to stick to the roof above the door giggling quietly. _

"_Naruto, where are you?" Kotsue drawled as he walked through the door and laughed Naruto let himself fall so he fell on top of the chunnin and was looking him in the eyes."There you are"_

_Naruto laughed and nodded and then tapped the older man on the nose "You hair is soft" he muttered as he ran his hands through it. Kotsue nuzzled the side of Naruto's neck and then licked his whisker marks making the genin shiver._

"_Your eyes are gorgeous" he muttered "And you lips...ravishing" he muttered before he kissed Naruto fully on the lips to which he gave back fully._

_As their tongues fought for dominance Kotsue pushed Naruto on the bed and then began to help him out of his shirt why the blonde unbuttoned his grey jacket. Time past in a blur and soon they were both naked and he was filled with a burning heat and Kotsue was panting and groaning. Then white flashed before his eyes and he laid next to the chunnin panting and then pulled his boxers on lazily._

"_So that's sex" he panted in a tired voice._

_Kotsue laughed breathlessly and kissed him lingeringly "yep you amazing for your first time by the way" he said before he faded off to sleep Naruto soon following._

_Flashback_

Naruto's face burned bright red as the memory hit him full force, it was all clear to him now: he had gotten drunk, left with Kotsue and had given his virginity to him; all in all it was a big night.

"So how was he?" Naruto almost leapt two feet in the air and began clutching his chest in fear, and then glared at Jiraiya who was smirking at him "well, how was your first time?"

Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair before grinning "Well I can say this much, it's one of the best workouts I've ever had" Jiraiya roared with laughter and then slapped him on the back sending him tumbling forward where he caught himself and glared at Jiraiya who was walking towards the forest. "So what you teaching me?"

Jiraiya turned and smiled at him before clapping his hands "If your my student then you have to learn how to summon a toad" Naruto looked at him with stars with stars in his eyes and then yelled loudly. "YATTA!"

Jiraiya laughed and lead the boy to a secluded part of the forest near a stream and then looked him up and down and clicked his tongue "Okay seriously after this...I'm taking you shopping for a new wardrobe"

Naruto looked down at his worn clothing and then back up at Jiraiya and frowned "What's wrong with me clothes" he pouted "orange is awesome"

Jiraiya shook his head and pulled the fabric from between his two fingers "Your clothes are old and worn your due for a new outfit not to mention there a bit too small for them" Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his head before taking off his jacket and stepped out onto the water of the stream and did a flip and did a one handed handstand "So how do you summon?" he asked doing a flip on the water and landed on the shore in a crouch.

Jiraiya laughed and unrolled the large scroll on his back "first you sign a contract with you blood and then you put the your finger prints at the bottom of your name" he explained.

Naruto bit his thumb and started to write his name when he saw the name of the fourth Hokage and gasped _the fourth...he was a toad summoner?_

"**THAT IS CORRECT YOUNG ONE IN FACT THE LAST THING I SAW APART FROMT THE FOURTH WAS THE BOSS TOAD HIMSELF" **Kyuubi said happily as Naruto put his finger prints on the bottom on the name.

"Okay then you run through the hand signs like so" the toad sage said running through a series of hand signs which Naruto quickly memorized. "Then place the hand you sign the contract on the ground after smearing your blood on it" Jiraiya said demonstrated as he summoned the large toad that seemed to have taken a shine to Naruto because it licked him once again.

Naruto took a deep breath and ran through several hand signs before slamming his hand on the ground making a smoke cloud form, when it parted a small orange and black toad with a blue ninja vest stood there.

"Hiya" the toad said making Naruto laughed and bend down to the toad's level and smiled at him. "Are you my summoner, eh?"

"Sure am, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and you?" Naruto asked holding his hands out so the toad could hop on. The toad smiled and jumped on his hands and tapped his chin before clicking his fingers.

"I'm Gamakichi, I'm the big boss's son, and he sent me to see if the new summoner is alright" Naruto laughed and nodded.

"So do I pass" Naruto asked looking at the toad with a bright expression. The small toad nodded and jumped so he was laying on top of his mop of golden hair.

"You kidding me, of course you did, your awesome finally a ninja who understands how cool orange is" Gamakichi said making Naruto and even Jiraiya laughed. "Oh hey old man" the tiny toad said to the sage whose eyebrow began to twitch.

"I swear between these two I'm gonna die of a heart attack or maybe stress" the toad sage mumbled before getting Naruto to sit down in front of him Gamakichi in his lap. "Okay kid, I found out what type of Jut-su's you know last night, and they are really great specially the elemental wolf ones, but the thing is I'm guessing your Demonic big brother didn't tell you about the higher level jut-su" Naruto shook his head making Jiraiya shrugged 'It's not that difficult, it's just a hand sign or two variation the harder part comes after that" Naruto and Gamakichi cocked both their heads to the side and Jiraiya just shook his head and pointed at Naruto and grinned "Come to me once you've master the adult wolf jut-su's and I'll teach you an awesome trick with them"

"Gamakichi you ready to get to work!" Naruto shouted pumping his hand in the air.

The tiny frog did the same and jumped onto Naruto's shoulder "Sure am kid, it's you and me together till the end"

Jiraiya watched Gamakichi and Naruto interact and couldn't help but laugh, it reminded him of when he and Gammabutna had first met, although the boss toad was a little older than Gamakichi and a little bigger but still, the relationship was the same. _Kid your never gonna have a more loyal friend then Gamakichi I'll tell you_.

Temari pushed Sakura into her room and threw some clothes at the girl and sighed "Come on Sakura we haven't got all day" she laughed. The leaf kunochi had only been in their care for a day but in those 24 hours she had somehow grown on the family-even Baki-and now she had turned into a semi friend to Temari, who loved dressing her to torment the boys of the village and of the house.

"Give me a second" Sakura said before coming to stand before the fan wielding kunochi taking her breath away "So how do I look" the pinkette asked

Temari nodded and pulled the girl in front of the mirror and grinned, Sakura blushed when she looked at her reflection but nodded. Gaara was very adamant that she had to wear Suna summer clothes which meant revealing a lot of skin. Hell the outfit she had on now was supposed to be tame. The top was a bright red and pushed her cleavage up to show the world and the hem angled down into a V showing her hip bones and part of her toned stomach, her skirt ended mid thigh and was made of light red material and had golden jewels stitched into the top to make it look like a belt why two bells hung from her waist making her jingle if she swung her hips.

"Come on" Temari said as she started Sakura's make up. When the pink haired girl had told the four of them that Naruto had made it clear no one could know she was staying with them Baki had made her a cover story making it sound like Sakura was a Suna dancer and good friend of Temari's who was of noble blood and was deciding over who she should marry back in the village so she came to see her dear friend. The cover fit perfectly because being of Noble blood, and unmarried meant that Sakura had to had a face mask that would conceal her identity on while a light material hood covered her hair and the mask was pinned to her cloak which was a bright red as well for the day.

"This Naruto guy must really trust Gaara or something to send you to us for a whole month" Temari said as she began placing the jewels on the corners of Sakura's eyes. "I mean I didn't even think Naruto knew Gaara"

"He doesn't, but Naruto sees a kindred spirit in Gaara somewhere and when he saw him fight he knew that out of all the competitors he would be able to keep me the safest, even if he was foreign, in fact he was a little worried, I was okay about having to fit into your customs, he of course was worried but I talked him into it" Sakura said as her dancer shoes were tied up till the ribbon almost reached her knees.

"You guys ready" Kankuro said leaning on the door frame, Sakura nodded and gave her cloak and mask to him so he could put them on her, when he finished he opened the door and held out his hand so Sakura could step out. As soon as she was out the door she was Sara from Suna.

Kankuro kept her hand and held it up poised while Temari stood next to her pointing everything out to her as if she had never been here before. And a few meters back Kankuro could feel his brother glaring at everything. "Kankuro" Sakura said in a fake voice which sounded so real it was unbelievable although this voice was a little more seductive than her normal voice. "Is my presence boring you, I know you never took a liking to me as kids but I'd really love it if we could make up for the lack of friendship now" Kankuro nodded and they group kept walking.

Sakura began to get very self conscious as every guy she walked past gave her lust filled looks and after an hour and a half of walking she stopped "I want to try the food here" she said stopping in front of the first restaurant she came to. Kankuro nodded and opened the door for her and as soon as she walked in hush fell and the owner of the store rushed forward and bowed to her.

"You must be lady Sara from Suna am I correct?" he said not coming up from his bow. Sakura took her hand from Kankuro's grasp and gave it to the man who kissed her knuckles before standing up. "The artwork on your hands is beautiful" he said bowing his head again.

Temari smirked and Kankuro took her hand again 'Miss Sara is training to be a high Priestess of the Suna temple, these designs are the markings she must carry for her life" he said to the restaurant owner.

"Wow" he whispered before shaking his head and motioning for them to follow him. "Please follow me I shall take you to your seat" When she was seated with Gaara and Kankuro either side of her and Temari and Baki in across from her the owner quickly gave them menus and then disappeared into the kitchen, Sakura's whole demeanour dropped and she sighed heavily.

"This is actually really hard" she whispered.

Gaara suddenly stiffened and gripped her wrist tightly making Sakura's eye widen a little when a smooth bored voice flowed to her ears "Sasuke we should go welcome the Lady to the leaf village"

Sakura sucked in a deep breath and nodded at Gaara who let go of her wrist and just crossed his arms. When Sasuke and Kakashi arrived at their table Sakura nodded at each one before offering her hand to them "I am Lady Sara from Suna, and you brave leaf ninja?" she asked

Kakashi chuckled lowly and took her hand and planted a mask covered kiss to her hand which made the pinkette kind weirded out that he was her sensei and here he was kissing her hand.

"I am Kakashi Hatake this is my student Sasuke Uchiha" he said giving her back her hand, Sakura looked Sasuke over and then Kankuro whispered in her ear to which she nodded before turning back to Kakashi.

"My friend here tells me you have another student in the finals, a blonde boy by the name of Naruto?" she asked giving Kakashi a searching glance "Where is he, considering if young Sasuke here loses to my Gaara Naruto would be his opponent in the second match if he wins his own"

Kakashi coughed and scratched his hair "Yes well he and I had a disagreement and he has gone and found another trainer until the exams are over"

Sakura made a humming noise and then offered her hand to Sasuke who just gulped and took it lightly, "Young Uchiha I'm not going to bite I have no training, I couldn't possibly hurt you" she said in an amused voice.

Sasuke sucked in a breath and then gave a quick kiss to her knuckles and then pulled his head back up his face burning "You have a infatuation already don't you" she said as their tea was served by a waitress before she bowed and left.

Sasuke's face burned even redder and he looked away embarrassed making Sakura laugh a little "Oh fear not young man I'm sure she is a lucky girl"

Sasuke shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pocket "I'm afraid I haven't told her milady" Sakura nodded and then sipped her tea from behind her mask "But I plan to after my victory in the chunnin exams"

Gaara tensed and Temari and Kankuro looked on in fear only to be totally shocked when Sakura calmed him down by placing a single hand on his shoulder "Yes well my Gaara here is quite the ninja don't underestimate him"

Kakashi who had been silent up until that point looked at Sara and then his eyes widened and Sakura knew he had figured out who she was, "Milady I'm sorry but Sasuke and I must take our leave" Sakura nodded and waved them away before turning to drink her tea.

When they both were gone Sakura took a deep breath and Kankuro laid a comforting hand on her shoulder "You did good"

One week after his drunken night with Kotsue, Naruto was still trying to perfect the elemental wolf Jut-su's but was having trouble. But on a better note he had finally summon Gammabutna who had invited him into the clan as soon as he saw how close Naruto and Gamakichi were.

"Come on Kid you can do it" Naruto slammed his hands on the ground and then collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. He had been going at the same wolf for the last two days and it was slowly getting there, he formed his first adult wolf around the second day of training but now as he was looming on the mid way mark he was beginning to get tired.

"Sorry Gamakichi, I'm just a little tired" he said as he pulled his shirt off and threw it into the pile on the floor with his jacket. When he turned around all he heard was Gamakichi's gasp. "What?"

"That is awesome" the tiny toad said pointing to the huge tattoo that stretched out along his back. Naruto laughed and then scratched his whisker scars, "I mean it's huge" the toad said leaping until he sat on Naruto's mop of hair which had become his favourite spot to sit on.

"Hey kid I was think-what is that" Naruto inwardly groaned and was going to turn to explain when Jiraiya forced him to look ahead as he looked at his tattoo "Naruto this is...amazing"

"Thanks a friend owed me one so he did for me" Jiraiya looked at the tiny toad who Naruto still hadn't dispelled since first summoning him and then back down at Naruto who was smiling happily.

"Okay kid come with me" Jiraiya said as he lead the two of them further and further away from the village and deeper into the forest.

'Pervy Sage come on I'm tired" Naruto complained as he pulled his worn jacket back on. "Gamakichi and I were up all night perfecting Tidus" he said as the tiny toad yawned.

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched as he heard the blonde favourite nickname for him and then kept walking "Were going to an old friend of mine, you need new clothes and he'll make them for me" Naruto was about to complain again when he came face to face with a beautiful cottage with two beautiful Labradors sitting on the poach.

"Who was this friend of yours" he asked in awe of the small house.

"Blue Oi Blue get out here" Jiraiya called.

Naruto was about to comment on something when a elderly man walked out of the house on his face were two red fang tattoos: this man was an Inuzuka. "Naruto meet Blue Inuzuka, Blue this is Naruto Uzumaki"

The man who had pure white hair and kind brown eyes patted one of his whining golden dogs and smiled at Naruto kindly "So this is the young boy, my young Kiba is always talking about eh" he said his voice strong and bold, much like Kiba's.

"Kiba, you know him?" Naruto asked as they slowly walked into the cottage and sat on the man's comfortable couches.

Blue laughed and nodded before patting Naruto on the head "Yes young one, Kiba is my grandson, my son Sifeir was his father" he said pulling out a photo of two men. "The young boy with the small red pup in his hands was Sifeir, I'm the young man" Naruto stared at Sifeir and couldn't help but notice at how much Kiba looked like his father, the young Inuzuka looked almost exactly like his father. Blue himself looked a lot like Kiba as a young man, except unlike the dogs out the front next to him was a giant blue wolf that put even Tsume's Kodamaru to shame.

"Where's him" he said pointing to the large wolf.

Blue laughed and whistled softly and all of a sudden a deep irritated growl echoed through the house. "You better have a good reason for calling me Blue" Naruto stared in awe at the large wolf in front of him. This was a beast that you could tell was war worn.

"Naruto this is my partner: Auron" The great wolf walked over to Naruto slowly and put his large head on his lap, and groaned in relief when Naruto began scratching behind his ears. "Auron this is Naruto Uzumaki"

Auron looked up and Naruto could see the heaviness of life weighing in the wolf's eyes and he knew that the great wolf was merely waiting for his life partner to die before he too would let go. Naruto traced the large scar running along Auron's muzzle and then looked at the three scars which had rendered his left eye useless and then played with the tuff of fur which was his right ear. "This is the boy that Kiba is so interested in"

Naruto blushed and Jiraiya thumped the boy on the back "Hear that kid, you're not a total loser"

"Hey leave the kid alone" Gamakichi said coming to his friends defence.

Auron curled up at Naruto's feet and Blue put away his photo before coming to sit back down next to the blonde "So what brings you here?"

Jiraiya laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder and gave Blue a serious look "Naruto here needs new ninja clothes, I don't want any sleeves, they get in the way" Blue nodded and got out a sketch book and motioned for Naruto to begin describing what he wanted.

When he finished he held up a finished sketch and Naruto nodded then smiled at Gamakichi who nodded back "And colours"

The toad and Naruto exchanged large grins and then smiled at the cloth maker, "Black and orange"

Sakura stared out at the village and sighed, lately the force of her secret had been weighing down on her, playing the part of Lady Sara was beginning to become very hard, the fact that Gaara wouldn't let her go anywhere without him or one of his siblings made it very hard to act normally at all. But luckily for her Naruto had told Zabuza about the arrangement and he made sure to meet with tem at least twice a week and tell them about how the village was taking her deception, it turned out that some ANBU and only a few Jonin had figured out who she was but because there was nothing wrong going on, nothing was going to be done about it. Lately Gaara had began to lash out at his siblings over little things and it was beginning to get harder and harder to keep him from hurting them.

"Kankuro" The puppet master who was watching over her that night froze and looked at Sakura pleadingly as Gaara stalked murderously towards him "why do you always serve to piss me off" the sand ninja growled out as the sand started to swamp over his brothers lower legs.

Sakura bit her lip and she rushed towards Gaara and spun his around and as Naruto's words ran through her head she smashed her lips with Gaara's _Whatever it takes_ she thought as she motioned for Kankuro to run as Gaara gripped her tightly as he kissed her back furiously.

Kankuro ran to Temari who could already tell what happened and let her younger brother curl up next to her.

"How'd she calm him down this time?" she asked as she stroked his hair comforting.

Kankuro clutched his sister and looked up at her with frightened eyes "She's given in to him" Temari looked at the door with sad eyes and then clutched her brother tightly back 'Sakura...thank you"

The next morning when the pink haired kunochi woke the first thing she noticed was Gaara's arm wrapped around her waist, the second then she realized was that her neck was sore, and thirdly thankfully she was still fully clothes.

"Your mine now" Sakura tensed and turned and faced Gaara who was looking her up and down and rolled until he was on top on her "For the next month you are mine, and then I will ask Naruto if I can have you forever"

Sakura gulped and nodded and let the sand ninja kissed her roughly, and then held back her tears why inside she felt her resolve strengthen _don't worry Naruto I've got you back_

After three weeks of continuous training Naruto had finally decided to take a break and was just lying back on the grass with Gamakichi sitting on his chest sleeping peacefully, Jiraiya who was writing in a small notebook looked over at the lump of orange and black and smiled fondly, after training for three straight weeks the boy had finally managed to master all the different elemental wolf forms and tomorrow he would start on the fusion jut-su's but for now the boy could sleep. It only took three weeks for the boy to grow on him but it was enough, Jiraiya was just waking the two of them up when three ANBU ninja dropped down from the trees and knelt before Naruto who just rubbed the grit out of his eyes why Gamakichi awned from his perch atop his head.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Lord Hokage would like to see you" Naruto sighed and nodded and let the ANBU ninja guide him there but not before dispelling Gamakichi for the first time and giving him strict instructions to rest.

When they reached the office the Hokage sat back sighing as he took in Naruto's condition and then folded his hands across his stomach "Hello Naruto it's been a while since you were seen in the village" he said kindly.

Naruto nodded and yawned again, he was just about to fall asleep when the ANBU had arrived "Yeah, It has I've been training"

The Hokage nodded and threw him a scroll 'I need Kitsune, many of the other countries believe him to be dead, and I need show them their not, it's one mission just a simple assassination, easy for you" Naruto took the scroll and then nodded before pointing to the two ANBU outside.

"You know who I am right" both of them nodded and Naruto grinned "Good then you know what I will do to you if you tell anyone right?" both of them nodded and Naruto smiled "Good" he said before turning and walking over to rat who was waiting for him at the end of the hall.

"You are aware that Panther and Tiger are some of my most trusted officers" The elder ANBU said as he transported them to the ANBU headquarters.

Naruto waved Rat's assurances away and then quickly changed before leaping out of the window and towards the gates. Shikamaru who was walking with Kiba laughed at something the loud dog Nin said when they both walked into a wall of flesh.

"Hello" when the two genin looked up from the floor they saw a foxed mask ANBU standing above them "I always seem to run into you"

Shikamaru nodded and Kiba just stared and before either ninja could ask the small ANBU where he was going he walked straight pass them. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed onto the thick black tattoo lines on the boy's bare shoulders and back of his arms "Kiba didn't Naruto have a huge Nine Tailed Fox tattoo on his back?"

Naruto sighed as his prey ran away from him and then appeared in front of him sitting on the tree branch "You know it'll be much faster if you just let me kill you ready" The Missing Nin shook his head and Naruto just sighed and then jumped down until he was right in front of the rouge ninja "Sorry but you don't get any say in it" the missing nin didn't know what hit him when suddenly his throat was cut and he was bleeding out onto the floor staining the ground red.

"Humph these are my good shoes" Naruto said as he looked at the blood pooling around them. Leaving the now dead missing Nin laying on the ground Naruto began to walk back to the village, and when he arrived and walked through the gates, many ninja stopped and bowed in his presence and when he bumped in to Asuma the eldest son of the Hokage smirked and crossed his arms.

"Well if it isn't Kitsune how you doing kid?" he asked as they walked to the Hokage's tower together.

"Bloody" he said in a sarcastic voice making the smoker laugh, "No really he ruined my shoes" Naruto said pouting behind his mask.

Asuma nodded and then saw Kurenai and bid the young ANBU goodbye. Naruto sighed and made his way up to the Hokage's office, and as soon as he entered Naruto glared at the old man and crossed his arms "You owe me new ANBU sandals" he said before taking his mask off "He's dead, now can I go back to training?"

The Hokage sighed and nodding. As The Hokage watched Naruto go he sighed, somehow the third had a feeling that the young blonde boy would be the first rookie to make chunnin in ten fifteen years.

As Soon as Jiraiya saw his student he pulled his aside "You want to learn the final part of the elemental wolf Jut-su?" Naruto nodded and smirked happy that he was going to finally master the jut-su completely.


	12. Kyuubi and Shukaku a Demonic Bond

**Chapter 11-Kyuubi and Shukaku: A Bond between Jailors**

Sasuke stared up at the arena and smirked as he stood next to Shikamaru who looked completely bored out of his mind. Kakashi who had tried to talk him into being late like him was sitting up with Sakura who was dressed in a tighter and shorter version of her ninja attire. Everything was in place except one thing...Naruto was late. Sasuke looked around once more and sighed, Naruto's match was first and from what he'd heard from Kakashi his match was just as anticipated as his own. Apparently word about his new Bloodline had gotten out and people wanted to see this no name ninja go up against the Hyuga's and find out who was better.

"He won't come he knows he won't win" Neji said arrogantly.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and scoffed "Look Naruto's a lot of things but he aint a coward, trust me he'll be here" Sasuke nodded but Gemma sighed and bit into his senbon a little harder.

"It doesn't matter if he doesn't get here soon then he'll be disqualified, it's bad enough Dosu from the sound won't be competing anymore" he said and Sasuke looked around once more before sighing. Gemma looked up at the riled up crowd and then lifted his hand "Naruto Uzu-"

"I'm what" Everyone looked up at the top of the arena and Sakura gasped happily, she was beginning to worry that the blonde wouldn't make it. "I was just a little held back, forgot my new clothes" he said as he flipped to land in between Shikamaru and Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head and then looked at Naruto's new clothes. The blonde had on a orange workout tank and a black sleeveless vest over it, black ninja pants, as well as a bright orange belt with black ninja sandals with a orange trimming. On his hands were metal plated fingerless gloves and he had a bandage mask just like Zabuza but he had kept his head band against his forehead revealing his new eye to the audience.

"You had to make an entrance didn't you?" Shikamaru said smiling lazily at Naruto but then caught sight of the Tattoo lines on his shoulders and gulped as the matched the ones Kitsune had perfectly.

"Oh you know, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja" he said shrugging. Gemma chuckled and then turned to face the audience who were going crazy over Naruto's appearance.

"Everyone stand up straight, and present yourself to the audience" Naruto scanned the audience and when he saw Sakura he smiled at her before scanning along until he saw Kiba who was waving happily why Akamaru barked happily when he saw them. Gemma turned to face them again and cleared his throat "Okay will Neji Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki please remain on the field, the others may wait in the waiting area"

As they all moved off Gaara fixed his gaze on Naruto and then followed his siblings up to the waiting area. Neji gave Naruto a once over before he was caught by his pentingan. Gemma saw Neji staring at Naruto's new eye and then coughed to get his attention, "Okay the rules are the same as the preliminaries, except this time you're not just fighting to get to the next round your fighting to show us if you're ready to be a chunnin"

Naruto nodded and when Gemma signalled the battle to begin the crowd fell silent and Neji smirked "You think that eye is going to help you here: I've got the Byukugan" Naruto nodded and then rushed forward until he was right in front of him and smirked.

'So?" He said before kicking the young Hyuga in the chin sending him flying across the field sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Naruto quickly scanned the field and then smiled when he saw the sun wind and water nearby. _That'll work _he said before quickly running through three sets of hand signs and slamming his hand on the floor. "Hey Neji" The young Hyuga who had pulled himself from the rubble activated his Byukugan and glared "Do you remember the Jut-su I used on Kiba...well they all grew up"

Neji's eyes went wide as three large wolves appeared behind him, one made from wind with silver fur and hollow eye, one with blue fur and eyes made of water, and an adult version of Kumio. Neji glared as Naruto jumped on top of the wind wolf and smirked "Meet Tidus, Ifrit and Ventus" Neji looked at each wolf and then smirked as they all rushed forward.

Before any of them hit Neji leapt in the air and landed on top of Naruto and use his gentle palm on his chest making the blonde cough up blood.

"I can see each of your wolves, weak points, Ventus is your heart, Ifrit" He said before slamming his hand on his lungs, "Your Lungs and Tidus" he said before smashing his hand into his throat in a move that would normally crush a man's throat "Your throat" all three of Naruto's wolves disappeared howling and Neji smirked and was going to get up when Naruto's hand flew up and gripped his wrist in a death grip, his blue eyes turning red and his pupils thinning into slits.

"**SHOW HIM HOW WE FIGHT KIT" ** Kyuubi snarled.

Naruto smirked revealing his elongated canines and forced Neji to look into his right eye **"You fell for my trap**" Neji's eyes went wide when he suddenly felt his head go fuzzy **"Pentingan Knowledge scan Complete" **

Naruto Kicked Neji back and cracked his shoulders before putting his hands in the dragon sign and closed his eyes **"Pentingan Wind Path Valor Open: Valor Pentingan Arena " **Sasuke's eyes went wide: he knew this Jut-su Naruto had used something like it against the creep who had bit him. Suddenly a large gush of wind blew through the arena and soon it focused into a six pointed Pentagram Neji and Naruto in the middle of it.

"What is this?" Neji hissed as he felt the wind begin to sharpen and get more powerful

"**Do you remember when you said my eye couldn't help me...well what can the all Seeing Eye do against an eye of the gods?" **Naruto said before rushing forward and kicking Neji into the wind barrier making him scream out.

In a quick defensive manoeuvre Neji used his rotation to get away from the wind and then quickly got into position "8 trigrams...64 palms" he called out before rushing forward and began to hit all of his chakra points "2 Palms, 4 palms, 8 palms, 16 palms, 36 palms, 64 palms" he called out. Naruto flew back against the barrier and coughed up blood and Neji stood up and smirked "Your finished"

But unlike when Neji flew into the barrier the wind let Naruto down to the floor where he got up and cracked his neck in pain **"That hurt" ** Neji's eyes opened in shocked when his opponent quickly ran through hand signs and then the winds seemed to encase him and take the form of Valor. **"Ultimate wind defence: Valor Armour Jut-su" **Neji glared and just forward only for Naruto to jump into the air and rushed through hand signs again **"Sorry Neji I can't let this battle keep going: "Wings Of valour Jut-su" ** Neji looked in shock as the wind wings on Naruto's armour became solid and started to glow. **"Neji, you remember that dive I did on Kiba right?" **Neji Nodded and before he could even gasp Naruto swooped down and had him locked to his grip up in the air **"Well meet version 2: were you meet the wind arena instead of cement" **Naruto then grinned as his wings locked around him and then they began falling deadly fast towards the ground. **"Valor death dive Jut-su" **He called out before slamming into the ground. A huge dust cloud arose and when it parted Neji was covered in multiple scratches and slashes why Naruto stood next to the large crater without a single cut on him. "That is the power of the Pentingan"

"Winner Naruto Uzumaki" The whole crowd erupted in cheers while the head of the Hyuga family stood in awe of the power Naruto possessed, that boy had managed to find out a way to reopen all of his chakra points after they were all closed.

Kotsue and Izsum stared at Naruto in awe and then both nodded at each other "To be able to work out a way to beat a prodigy in the heat of battle and be able to execute that plan flawlessly without getting injured himself: there is no way he shouldn't be chunnin" Izsum said in awe.

Kiba who was right next to the two chunnin nodded and then smiled down and the kid in the arena who was helping Neji limp to the medics. _Good Job Naruto, although I'm a little pissed, and relieved you didn't use that on me._

Jiraiya watched from the top of a building in pride as he watched Naruto get announced as the winner of his match "Good Job Kid"

Sasuke stared down at the field in awe at what he saw, because of Naruto's large power the field now had a large pentagram gorged into the ground. "No way" Sasuke said in shock accidently bumping into Shikamaru and sending flying into the arena. The crowds cheered at what they thought was Shikamaru's great enthusiasm and Gemma merely scratched his head and then motioned for Temari to come down to the field.

"Come on Shikamaru" Sasuke looked over shocked as he saw Naruto standing next to him happily cheering on his fellow leaf Nin. "Beat that Sand princess to a pulp"

The shadow ninja rolled his eyes at Naruto's antics but couldn't help but smile, only the blonde found find fighting a girl easy. Temari smirked when she saw Shikamaru and then had to stop herself from getting angry when she saw him yawn.

"Why do I have a feeling this isn't going to end well" Naruto said as he felt the waves of anger rolling off the sand kunochi.

Shikamaru stared at Temari as she started to attack and let himself get blown into the cover of the trees and then ran through a set of hand signs "Shadow Possession Jut-Su" Temari's eyes went wide in fear and she began jumping back until the shadow just stopped and began to retract. "Damn I missed"

"So 13.5 meters huh, that's an impressive jut-su" she said as she once again swung her giant fan sending the shadow user slamming against the wall against. Naruto watched as Shikamaru entered a meditative pose and then smirked. "This is about to get interesting"

When Shikamaru smirked and took off his jacket and then jumped into the trees, Naruto chuckled when he saw Shikamaru's plan and then noticed where he was sending the sand Kunochi. Sasuke looked at Naruto he was crazy and then shook his head in confusion, sometimes he would never understand who the blonde ninja was. Temari jumped back again when she saw the shadow growing longer and smirked when she got away from it only to be shocked when she found she couldn't move her body anymore.

Shikamaru stood up and shook he head "What is it about kunochi and not watching their surroundings?" Temari looked at the pentagram gorge and noticed that the shadow was connected to a line closer to the shadow boy "All these lines are connect which means my shadow could move freely and easier without any problems from the sun" Shikamaru said as he began to walk forward and brought the sand kunochi with him.

"So what are you gonna do now" Temari practically spat.

Shikamaru turned to the proctor and shrugged "I don't see any way I'm gonna win do you?" Gemma shook his head and called out loudly "Because he is unable to continue on Shikamaru Nara has lost, Temari is the winner"

The crowd cheered because of the great match and Shikamaru walked off towards the stairs, where Naruto was waiting for him with a sick look on his face. "Naruto you ok" the blonde didn't say anything just grabbed his hand and ran forward towards the spectator venue "Naruto what are you doing?"

"Gaara is versing Sasuke next, and I didn't think anything of it till now, but Sakura just gave me a signal and wants to meet with me, and if anyone knows Gaara the best in the whole leaf village it's her" Naruto said hurriedly as he jumped over a metal bar.

"How would Sakura know about the sand ninja the only person they have hung out with was that...no way...Sakura was Lady Sara" Shikamaru growled, and Naruto nodded to the lazy genius

"Yes I sent her there and got her to watch Gaara for me, try to find out what makes him tick and all that, and now she wants to meet right before their match...it can't be good" Shikamaru nodded and tore away from Naruto's grip and began running on his own.

When they reached the entrance to the block where Sakura was sitting it was already too late, Sasuke was already engaged in battle with the sand monster. "Dammit" Naruto gritted out and then raced down to Sakura who looked relieved to see him.

"Naruto stop the match" she said shocking Kakashi who was sitting right next to her 'Gaara doesn't intend on just fighting, Gaara is in this to kill Sasuke" Naruto's eyes went wide and Gai and lee who were sitting in front of the pinkette turned to face her in shock.

"Sakura?" Kakashi asked in confusion and then a loud chirping sound erupted from Sasuke's hand and Naruto saw red and before even Gai could react Naruto punched Kakashi in the face.

'You taught him that, are you insane" He hissed before looking at the orb of sand that Gaara had encased himself in.

"**KIT STOP THE MATCH NOW, OR SASUKE WILL DIE" **Naruto's eyes widened and he rushed forward, when suddenly feathers fell from the sky, _what_ he thought as Kyuubi flared out his chakra. **"IT'S A GEN JUT-SU KIT, I JUST SAVED YOU" ** Naruto grinned and then was about to jump forward and stop the sand trio from escaping when a masked imposter and several sound ninja appeared in front of him.

"Humph it's just a little kid" One of them said, Naruto sighed and took out his curved kunai and tapped it against his thigh with a wicked smile on his face.

"Yeah but you know what: I'm a little crazy" he said before he engaged the ninja in battle alongside his Jonin senseis.

Kakashi panted as he looked around the carnage, there were no end to the enemy and the fact that they sand trio had gotten away made all his nerves stand on end. So sighing he jumped over until he was by Naruto's side, and noticed that his mask of bandages were speckled with blood, and that his jacket shined a little.

"Naruto I need you to go after Sasuke and the sand ninja" He grunted as he kicked another sound ninja and sent him flying.

Naruto nodded and killed the ninja behind Kakashi and kicked Shikamaru awake and then pulled Sakura until she was standing next to them. "Okay I've got three you got one more"

Kakashi nodded and then summoned a little puppy wearing a headband and a ninja jacket. "Hey what's up?" the dog said.

Kakashi quickly explained the situation and the introduced the puppy as Pakkun and when they looked for an opening Gai punched a sound ninja straight through the wall and then grinned at Naruto who looked confused "Naruto your team leader, Shikamaru is you SIC got it" Kakashi said "Now go" Naruto nodded and the four of them ran off leaving the Jonin to fight.

"Kakashi was it really wise to leave Naruto in charge?" Gai said as he blocked another ninja "He's a great ninja I'll give him that but he seems a little instinctive" Kakashi nodded and then kicked a sound ninja three chairs away.

"Yes Naruto is instinctive but when it comes to the safety of the people he loves, Naruto becomes this amazing skilled Shinobi, and at the moment I need that ninja and the fact that it's Gaara who is the one Sasuke is going after means that Naruto will try twice as hard, because he's just like the red head" Gai turned and gave Kakashi a shocked look

"You don't mean they both hold...Kakashi if they fight the shockwaves could destroy the village" Kakashi nodded and then snapped the ninja's neck before facing Gai.

"Naruto was made into a weapon at the age of six, and I hate to think of him that way but even Naruto knows that there are times when the village must use him as one, this..." he said motioning around him "Is one of those times" Gai sighed and nodded before returning to the fight.

Naruto followed the small dog carefully when he froze making the others stop as well "Pakkun is there anyone following us?" The small dog smelt the air and then took a step back in shock but nodded.

"Yeah twelve of them...no wait thirteen and there coming up fast" Naruto swore and put the dog on his head much like the way Gamakichi rode on his head and then quickly summoned the tiny toad who looked around and then saluted Naruto.

"Gamakichi I need your help, you remember Sasuke's scent" the tiny toad nodded and Naruto grinned "Good because I need you and Pakkun to work together on this one"

"Got it boss" The tiny frog said and he began leaping from tree to tree leading them faster than Pakkun had been.

"Okay Pakkun why Gamakichi is busy with Sasuke's scent I want you to follow the enemy's scent I want updates on their status every five minutes" The tiny dog nodded and stopped following Sasuke's scent and zeroed in on the group of enemy nin's scent.

Shikamaru stared at Naruto in shock and shared a glance with Sakura who just smiled and nodded "Shikamaru" the shadow user looked back at Naruto who seemed tense "I want you to make me up a plan for if we can't out run the enemy Nin"

"You got it Naruto" he said before he began to think quickly running through variables and other advantages the enemy ninja had at their disposal.

"Sakura, I need you to keep an eye on our surroundings, we don't have a scout and I know that it's normally mean or Kakashi sensei on missions but this time I need you to do it" Sakura took a deep breath and nodded.

Gamakichi jumped over a burned log and gave Naruto a quick look "Seems that Sasuke activated a few paper bombs a while back, he must be pretty close to them for the sand ninja to get that desperate"

Pakkun sniffed the air and sighed "Kid there getting closer I say another few minutes they'll swarm us" Naruto swore again and looked back at Shikamaru "Got that plan ready?"

The shadow user nodded hesitantly and Naruto gritted his teeth knowing that the plan would be bad "Okay tell me we don't have a lot of time"

Shikamaru cleared his throat before beginning "Okay as we know there is a large group coming after us, the only problem is Naruto and I are tired from our earlier fights and no offense Sakura but from what I can tell these guys mean business" Sakura nodded not taking any offense to what Shikamaru stated "so the only solution I came up with...was a diversion" Naruto nodded and then motioned for him to continued "The person being the decoy must be able to put his live on the line, but the problem is we need Naruto because not only is he in charge of the mission and his summon but he is the only one who could go up against Gaara and survive" Naruto tensed for a second before nodding "So that cuts him out and Sakura I can't be scout I don't have any of the skills for it, you are the only one who could do that for Naruto apart for the summons which are both busy already, I'm the only one who could do it" he said and laughed a little.

Naruto suddenly stopped and turned to face Shikamaru and clapped him on the shoulder and squeezed it "Don't die on me got it" the shadow user nodded and Naruto gave him one more look before jumping into the trees again. Sakura gave him a sad look before leaping after her teammate. Shikamaru cracked his fingers and then his neck before getting to work.

As they leapt along Pakkun whispered something in his ears making Naruto grin "Shikamaru your gonna be just fine"

Gamakichi turned back to them and gave them a thumbs up "were gaining on them, they aint, Sasuke is moving a little slower now either he wants to drag out the chase as long as possible or he's injured"

Naruto nodded and Pakkun sniffed the air and grunted "Whatever the slacker's doing seems to be working the enemy have stopped chasing us"

Sakura nodded and the three of them picked up the pace. When they got to a destroyed part of the forest Naruto ran his hand along a large gash in the tree and then down at Gamakichi and smirked "You are amazing little buddy, this cut can't be any older than twenty minutes" The toad shrugged and then jumped off and they followed him carefully. After ten minutes of running Naruto got them to hide in a tree not too far away from where Sasuke was now confronting Gaara who had pushed his siblings onto the a nearby tree and was snarling at the raven dangerously as sand began forming over his arm.

"**KIT...THIS ISN'T GOOD" **Kyuubi said in a low voice as he watched his brother try to help his jailor but end up causing the boy massive amounts of pain. **"SHUKAKU DOENS'T KNOW WHY HE'S HURTING THE BOY HE'S CONFUSED" **

Naruto nodded and put Pakkun down and almost immediately Gamakichi took his place and winced as the sand ninja bashed Sasuke around like a rag doll. "Naruto why aren't we helping" Sakura hissed.

Naruto held up and hand and covered her eyes when Sasuke's cursed mark took over half way "Trust me I want nothing more than to go in there and help Sasuke but right now I can't do that I have to wait" Sakura nodded and then when Naruto saw Gaara charging for the Sasuke prone form on a nearby tree branch he leapt forward and kicked the demon so hard in the jaw that it sent him flying into a nearby tree.

"Yeah go Naruto" Gamakichi cheered as Naruto put him down next to Sakura who was picking up Sasuke.

"Gamakichi I want you to go with Sakura" The tiny toad nodded sadly and then Naruto looked at Sakura "I want you to go to Temari and Kankuro I want you guys to hide and I don't want you to come out" Sakura nodded and just before she was about to move off Sasuke grabbed Naruto's jacket in a painful grip.

"Don't he'll kill you, he's a monster" he wheezed as he fought the curded mark.

Naruto shook his head and smiled at Sasuke warmly "Yeah but so am I"

Gaara stood back up and stared at Naruto who glared at him with his mismatched eyes and then grinned with his half demonic formed face "Well aren't you a good little jailor, you have total control" he snarled in a laughing voice "What's you secret"

Naruto channelled Kyuubi's chakra and his eyes turned red and his whisker marks thickened and he looked back at Gaara in pity **"Unlike you Gaara I have a bond with my Demon I never rejected it like you have"** Gaara gave Naruto a confused look when Naruto ran through several hand signs; **"Elemental Wolf Jut-su Ifrit" ** When the large flaming wolf appeared Naruto laid a hand on the wolf's back and then began one handed hand signs **"Elemental Wolf Fusion Armour Jut-Su" **Kankuro and Temari watched in shock from their hiding spot as then wolf Naruto had created disappeared in flames that surrounded Naruto and took on a weird shape before becoming solidifying in a dark red armour. Gaara stared in shock at the figure before him, the armour that Naruto had just created was amazing, in covered him head to toe: the was a dark red and had red boots and the armour itself looked like red hardened magma. On his back were two huge curved swords and on his right arm were five huge claws, the lower part of his face was covered by mask that was connected to his chest armour and around his neck was a scarf that flowed out behind him. **"Okay let's see who is stronger huh" **Gaara snarled and leapt at Naruto who leapt right back.

When the two of them clashed a huge shock wave blew most of the trees back and the hiding ninja were shocked at the power the two ninja were displaying.

"Why won't you die" Gaara screamed as he tried to hit him with his tail only to have him dodge it and kick him in the face.

"**Because I don't die easily" **Naruto gritted out as Gaara's second transformed arm dug into his armour.

When the two of them parted Gaara was halfway to a full transformation and Naruto was missing a chunk of armour on his shoulder. Temari shook as she watched her little baby brother go up against Naruto and couldn't help but be more scared of the blood lust Naruto was exerting. Gaara grabbed Naruto by the throat and pushed him into the tree and brought his demonic face close to Naruto's armoured.

"Tell me about your so call bond" Naruto put his hand on the side of Gaara's face and then smirked as the boy pulled back screaming in pain as his face burnt.

"**To me the one I jail is not a burden it is my brother, he is the one who has been with me at birth" **Naruto said as Gaara glared at him

"My demon has caused me nothing but pain, to my village I am nothing but a weapon" Naruto's eyes softened and he lost his fighting pose.

"**You believe I was treated any better? I am this village's weapon as well, why do you think they sent me to fight you" ** Gaara stared in shock as he looked at Naruto before he shook his head and sent a barrage of flying sand shuriken flying at him.

"You know nothing of my pain" he screamed as Naruto went flying back.

Naruto cracked his neck and stood up and glared at Gaara evilly **"Okay now I'm mad" **He growled as steam rose from his body. **"Flaming arc wave" **Naruto said releasing a bright red wave to cancel out another barrage of sand shuriken.

Naruto rushed forward and slashed down with his claw making Gaara scream in pain as he gripped him and pulled the fellow demon jailor close to him.**"Did you ever think that maybe your demon wanted to talk to you and that you were making it hurt you as you fought against it?" **Gaara pushed away from Naruto and then pooled all his sand around his feet.

"I will not lose" he screamed, and Naruto was shocked when Sand started to crawl up his legs.

"**Oh this isn't going to end well" **he whispered as he saw Gaara's full transformed form and then quickly ran through a series of hand signs. **"Summoning Jut-su"**

Suddenly he was fifty stories in the air kneeling on the head of a giant toad with a large pipe in his mouth.

"Kid what the heck you summon me for" The giant toad bellowed, 'And where is my son I can feel his presence and plus he's never far from you"

Naruto chuckled and stood up and then armour on his legs cracked a little "**Don't worry Gamakichi is safe although if we don't stop him we won't be" **Gammabunta looked at the form before him and nodded.

"Very well, let us fight" The Boss toad said before unsheathing his small-for him at least-blade and rushed forward.

Temari and Kankuro looked in awe as the two great beasts fought an Naruto just stood perfectly on the great toad's head not stumbling once. "Who is he" Temari whispered.

"That's Naruto Uzumaki, my best friend" the tiny toad in Sakura's arms said as he smiled at the wind mistress.

Gammabunta sighed as he lost his sword and leapt back "Kid I can't get a good grip on him for you to form your link"

Naruto who had lost more than half his armour by that point nodded and then bit his lip "**What about a joint transformation?" **He asked looking around.

The great toad froze for a minute and then nodded "That could work, got something in mind?" He asked as he raced towards the one tailed raccoon.

"**Yeah you could say that: Transform" **A large smoke blast filled the sky and to the small hiding groups shock instead of a huge toad jumping out of it the fabled nine tailed fox appeared and roared at the raccoon who began to stumble backwards.

"Kid you really know how to pick them" the toad in disguise said as he charge at the raccoon and leapt away to dodge an attack and then caught him with his jaws and large claws. "Now kid"

Naruto cancelled the transformation and then landed on Gaara's demonic head and then poured Kyuubi's chakra into his hands and touched Gaara between his eyes and then felt his head get foggy before he fell backwards.

When Naruto opened his eyes he was in a barren desert with large rocky walls surrounding him. **"Where am I?" **Naruto whispered his voice echoing.

"My mindscape" came a tiny voice and when Naruto looked down he saw a young Gaara who looked only six years old at the oldest. "What are you doing here?"

"**I'm here to help you and Shukaku" **Naruto said holding out his hand which Gaara grasped straight away. **"Can you take me to him?"**

Gaara nodded and then began to slowly walk through the hot sand until they reached a dark cave which had a deep growling from within. "This is where he lives"

Naruto smiled and squeezed mini-Gaara's hand **"Don't worry he doesn't want to hurt you" **Gaara gulped and nodded and the two of them walked into the cave.

When they got into the centre cave Naruto looked around when the great sand demon walked out of the shadows and bent down to look at Gaara who hid behind Naruto's legs.

"**SO THIS IS MY LITTLE JAILOR, ISN'T HE THE SHY ONE?" **The great sand demon cooed making Gaara giggle a little.

"**See Shukaku isn't that bad" **Naruto said pushing Gaara out so that he could talk with him more freely.

"**MY LITTLE CUB I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO REACH YOU I'M SORRY FOR THE PAIN I'VE CAUSED YOU" ** Shukaku said as Gaara hugged the giant raccoon and then yawned as he curled up in the demon's warm fur.

"It's okay I forgive you, I'm sorry too" the young Gaara said and Naruto saw their brother bond appeared and then he began to fade away.

When Naruto came too he noticed the giant sand demon form that Gaara had created was crumbling and before he knew it he was Gaara were falling only to be caught by Gammabunta "I got you kid"

Naruto smiled at the giant toad as the last of his armour crumbled off and Gaara looked at him with awe in his eyes "It's all different now...is this what you feel every day?"

Naruto nodded and hugged Gaara tightly to his chest "See what I meant by brothers?" Gaara started to cry and hugged Naruto back and Gammabunta put them on the ground where they released each other but Naruto kept an arm wrapped an arm around his waist until they reached the hiding group and as soon as they did Kankuro gathered him up into a tight hug before grabbing Gaara and hugged him tight who hugged him back tentatively. Temari who was bawling her eyes out grabbed Naruto in a bear hug and wouldn't stop saying she was thank you until Naruto said he was welcome.

As they were leaving Gaara stopped by Sakura who was holding Pakkun in her hands now that Gamakichi was back on his perch on Naruto's head and looked down ashamed.

"I'm sorry" he said and Sakura shook her head "nothing to apologize for, I just want you to get better"

Gaara looked over to Naruto who smiled at him and then nodded back at the pink haired girl "Yes I think I've already started" Sasuke just watched as the sand trio jumped off and then sighed.

"Does this mean were traitors because we let them go?" Naruto burst out in laughter and threw his arm around Sasuke's neck "No seriously, does it"

Sakura laughed as the three of them began to walk back to the leaf village together. __


	13. Naruto: Itachi's Charge

**Chapter 12-Naruto-Itachi's charge**

Naruto looked around the village with hazy eyes, now that the third was gone all the blonde wanted to do was go to the council and over them his services back into ANBU , but then at the same time Naruto knew that the third wanted him to live a happy ninja life with friends and all the other things that come with being a normal teenager. Looking over to the end of his bed he stared sadly at the black clothing that he had been given by Jiraiya for this type of ceremony. Once he was dress in a dull clothing Naruto locked his door and stared up at the sky which was rumbling **"LOOKS LIKE THE SKY WILL START TO CRY SOON" **Kyuubi said in a sad voice.

Naruto nodded and for once he wished he was a sender so that he could honour The Third in a way that he should have been. "Naruto"

The blonde looked up and saw Kiba standing just a little in front of him "hey Kiba"

The dog user walked up to the blonde and clapped him on the shoulder "wanna walk together?"

Naruto looked at Kiba and nodded "Yeah, I'd like that" Naruto said and then smiled at Kiba before walking with him down the alley.

Sakura let go of Sasuke and glared at him and pointed to Naruto and Kiba and made a sshing motion "Geez could you be more stupid" she demanded putting her hands on her hips. Sasuke scratched his head and then smiled and held his arm to her.

"Wanna walk together" Sakura gave him a small smile and nodded before entwining their hands making Sasuke's eye go wide.

"Yeah I'd really like that" she said.

The funeral was a dull and boring occasion, it had rain through it completely making it seem even more sad and afterwards Naruto felt even more depressed then he had before, but when Tsume laid a hand on his shoulder he couldn't help but feel a little bit happier. "would you like to come back to our house for the wake, it's going to be more like a celebration of his life people telling funny stories and all that" the head of the Inuzuka clan asked her gruff voice turned soft and calming.

Naruto stared at her for a second before nodding "Sure I'd like that" Kiba smiled and bumped shoulders with the blonde boy as they walked together back to the Inuzuka compound.

"So I heard you're the one who beat Gaara eh" the Brunette said in a happy voice making Naruto laugh a little.

"Sure if beating each other to pulps counts as beating someone then sure I beat Gaara" Tsume laughed and pulled both boys against her sides as they entered the compound.

"You know what kid I really like you" Naruto grinned and then gasped when he saw Zabuza talking with one of the other Inuzuka's.

'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!"

Sakura-who was at Sasuke's paused while drinking her tea and sigh and looked at Kakashi and Sasuke who had also heard the yell "Looks like Naruto and Zabuza found each other"

"YOU DAMN BRAT I WAS INVITED SAME AS YOU" Zabuza said and then bent down until he was looking directly into Naruto's eyes.

"SAY THAT AGAIN I DARE YA" Tsume cracked up laughing and Zabuza and Naruto stoped and looked at her and then shrugged.

"You two fight more than Kiba and Hana do" She said wiping the tears from her eyes

"MOM" Kiba said crossing his arms.

Naruto shook his head and then threw his arm around Kiba's neck "Come on let's start Celebrating" he shouted making many of the other Inuzuka's cheer along with him.

Tsume and Zabuza stayed behind and the Inuzuka leader sighed happily when she saw how happy Kiba was with Naruto "You okay with him being gay?"

Tsume looked over at Zabuza who looked at her with a blank look to which she nodded and then shrugged "A lot of male Inuzuka's are, anyway Hana's first born will be the heir to the clan so as long as Kiba's happy I'll welcome whoever that person is, with wide arms" she said before pulling the swordsmen over to where the large canine family were laughing and talking.

Half way through the night Jiraiya had appeared and joined in feeding Naruto sake until he was loose enough and happy enough that the young blonde was able to wrestle a small band together out of the Inuzuka's. But most of the time the Inuzuka's just stood and watched in awe as Naruto played the pipe happily making sure it was a cheery tune. Kiba laughed along with his sister as Naruto pulled random Inuzuka's up to dance with him. Soon the whole clan was dancing and to Kiba's joy Naruto was in front of him playing his tune happily.

"You're really good" Kiba shouted over the large roar of his family.

Naruto smiled and him and then slid into a new song making Kiba laugh. Suddenly Naruto was lifted off the ground and when he looked down he saw he was on the shoulders of some random Inuzuka who spun him around and roared with laughter.

"That's my student" Jiraiya roared as he tried to out drink Zabuza who was practically hanging off Tsume who was holding in her laughter "He can hold his liquor really well although..." Jiraiya trailed off as he was distracted by a platter of food passing by him.

Kiba laughed and took Naruto's hand as the blonde had finally stopped playing and lead him through a winding path through the forest. As they got deeper Naruto couldn't help but pull a few jokes.

"Wait is this were you kill me and bury my body" He asked in a mock frightened voice.

Kiba shook his head and when they reached the top of the hill Naruto was stunned when he saw the glowing blue lake at the bottom of a valley.

"I want you to see this, I mean you seem to like nature and all that" Kiba said softly as Naruto stared out at the lake in amazement.

Naruto smiled and then he rushed down the hill towards the lake shedding a piece of clothing as he went. Kiba raced after his friend quickly but when he saw Naruto's toned back covered in his large tattoo his face went up in flames. "Kiba come on let's swim" Naruto called out as he kicked of his custom made shoes.

Kiba nodded and then slowly shed his own clothes until he was standing just in his boxers. Naruto gave Kiba a grin and then stripped them to before leaping into the lake leaving an extremely embarrassed Kiba standing in his wake. When the blonde boy resurfaced he waved Kiba in and then dived back under the water. The canine user gulped and nodded before stripping his own boxers and jumping into the water himself.

"The water is great don't you think?" Naruto asked as he treaded water while Kiba swam over to him.

Kiba nodded and then hid his blushing face in the water making Naruto smile a little before grabbing his hand "Come on I wanna show you something" he said before diving under the water dragging Kiba with him.

As the dived deeper and deeper Kiba swam up beside Naruto and grinned happily when suddenly the blonde pointed to the floor of the lake that was shinning a light blue making Kiba just look in shock. But when he tried to speak Naruto just shook his head and then propelled them to the surface.

"What was that?" Kiba asked in amazement as he glanced back down to the water.

Naruto grinned and then shrugged "A rare type of gem that grows on the bottom of rivers and lakes: it emits a faint glow at night making the whole lake shine and glow beautifully" Naruto said when he saw a huge scar on Kiba's shoulder "Did I do that in our battle?"

Kiba shrugged off Naruto's concern and then nodded "Yeah my first battle scar kinda proud of it, I'm not like you who has that awesome scar over his eye" he said motioning to Naruto's right eye.

Naruto turned away embarrassed and then coughed a little "I saw you fight against Neji" Naruto looked at Kiba who grinned at him and then shrugged a little "it was impressive although I don't know whether to feel relieved you didn't use you pentingan on me or annoyed you didn't find me a strong enough opponent to use it on me"

Naruto splashed the Inuzuka with water and shook his head "I could have used the Pentingan on you but I chose not to, I didn't have to use it on Neji either but I wanted to show him that his Byukugan doesn't put him above the rest of us" He said as he treaded water. Kiba nodded and then shivered. "Come on let's go get dry" Naruto said swimming to the shore where his clothes were waiting.

When the two genin were fully dressed and sitting at the base of a tree looking out at the lake Naruto began playing a soft melody on his pipe making Kiba stare at him awe at the skill he possessed with the instrument, but the longer he stared at Naruto the more he began to feel and when Naruto looked into his eyes and he found his face heating up it finally became clear: _I like Naruto_.

Three days passed from the Hokage's funeral and Naruto was once again training with Jiraiya, this time the perverted Toad Sage had him and working on his Tai-Jut-su and unfortunately for Naruto the old Toad sage had decided to make him learn several styles of tai-Jut-Su including the famous leaf style, which meant the old sage needed a master to teach him, and the only master willing to teach Naruto was the one ninja he didn't want to teach him.

"Naruto!, You truly have the power of youth behind you" Gai shouted as Naruto merged three different styles into one to kick the Tai-Jut-su master back, "What styles are you using?"

Jiraiya looked up bored and stared at Naruto's stance and grinned happily "I'm using your style, the Dance of the dragons and a unusual style known as Spiran Style" he said as he panted hard.

For three days straight he had been training and learning with both Jiraiya and Gai to become more efficient in tai-Jut-Su but in the end Gai had told him that he amazing at Tai-Jut-su and now merely wanted to spar against the boy to further enhance his skills. Kyuubi on the other hand had begun to teach him about how to utilize his chakra in a better ways other than just changing himself. But his favourite training was with Jiraiya: the old toad sage was teaching him various Jut-su's and was making sure he was furthering his speed.

"Gai, that's enough for today, I want to talk with the boy" The spandex wearing ninja nodded and then dazed Naruto with his smile of doom before leaping off.

Jiraiya shook his head and then jumped down until he was right in front of Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder and grinned "How's you Jut-su going?"

Naruto grinned and then ran through a bunch of hand signs when suddenly the wind began to react violently and he held his position muttering the names of the different hand signs when suddenly a huge dragon of wind appeared behind him. "Wind Dragon Jut-su"

Jiraiya looked impressed as the giant dragon of wind threw itself at the forest and cleared a huge path, "Good job kid, a little slow but you're getting there, I have work to do today so you can have the day off"

"Your gonna go peep on the women at the bath house again aren't you" Naruto said in a dead panned voice making Jiraiya freeze and look at him with scared eyes.

"No! I'm gonna peep on them from the street is that a problem?" he asked crossing his arms and glaring at the boy.

Naruto glared right back for a moment before his whole demeanour changed and he nodded happily "Okay, just don't get caught your by far my favourite Sensei" He said before running off leaving a large cloud of sand in his wake.

"That kid, you gotta love him" Jiraiya said before walking in the opposite direction whistling a happy tune _now bring on the ladies_

On the edge of the village two figures stood looking down at the village silently. "You sure he's down there?" the taller man asked

"Yes, he loves this village too much to leave it" The shorter on said in a smooth liquid voice the bell on his straw hat jingling as he began to walk towards the village.

The taller one jumped to catch up with his partner and then snorted "You seem to know a lot about him, were you close"

The shorter one lifted his head reveal pitch black eyes "You could say that, in fact at one point he was more important to me then my own family was"

The taller man snorted and then they breezed through the gates "Well he better be worth it"

Sakura laughed at something Shikamaru said and then looked over her shoulder when she saw a small dust cloud and was then shocked when Gamakichi landed in front of her. "It's you but where's Naruto"

Shikamaru remembered the toad and then looked around for its summoner when they heard a whistle from above them and they saw Naruto standing on the roof of one of the nearby buildings.

"Sorry about that Gamakichi got away from me" he said scratching his head as he jumped down and picked up his friend who jumped on his head straight away.

"Naruto, don't you ever get tired, ever?" Shikamaru asked as he leant against the wall he was before "I remember when you were just as lazy as me in the academy"

Naruto laughed and nodded "Yeah I guess, I don't sleep very often so a lot of the time I'm just sorta living on adrenaline it's a weird sensation" he admitted scratching his stomach slowly.

Sakura nodded and then waved goodbye to both boys and started off towards her house when suddenly Sasuke grabbed her hand and grinned before he pulled her towards his house. Shikamaru laughed lazily when he saw the two genin run off and then leant towards Naruto and whispered in his ear "When do you think the pressure of puberty will get to much for him" the cloud watcher asked

Naruto shook his head and laughed before staring up at the Hokage Mountain sadly "Don't you ever wish people like Orochimaru existed?"

Shikamaru looked at the mountain as well before sighing "I wish the world was all happy and peaceful but the fact of the matter is without people like the sound guy we can't have people like the third and the fourth who are regarded as heroes" Shikamaru said sadly

Naruto nodded and continued to stare at the mountain before grinning "I got idea, come with me" he said grabbing Shikamaru's hand and raced towards the fourth's temple.

When he arrived their Anton smiled at Naruto and hugged him tightly before motioning to the sending platforms. Shikamaru watched in surprise as Naruto was lead to a platform a little higher than the floor, he knew what the stage was used for he just didn't know that Naruto could perform a sending.

"Surprised that Naruto is performing a sending?" Shikamaru looked at the older man standing next to him and nodded making the old ninja laugh a little "Yeah I was the first time I saw him do it, but the fact is that Naruto truly honours our fallen heroes and that's all it really takes to perform a sending"

Shikamaru nodded and then watched as Naruto gave his chakra to the gods and continued to dance.

Sasuke dropped Sakura back at her house and then smiled warmly as he walked off to meet Kakashi. The raven had gotten Sakura to come with him to his house and pray with him for the third's death, afterwards she had stayed behind and served them tea and just spoke about the good times. But then on the way back to her house Sasuke had spotted a hawk which was signalling him to meet with Kakashi.

"Oi Kakashi what do you want" he asked as he walked up to his silver haired perverted teacher who was standing outside a dango shop.

"I was waiting for you, I was hoping to talk to you and catch something to eat at the same time" Kakashi said and suddenly Kurenai and Asuma who had been standing a little to the side disappeared making Sasuke shot his sensei a confused glance.

'Look can we go somewhere different I don't really have a sweet tooth" he said in a bored voice as he began walking down the street towards his favourite restaurant.

Kurenai and Asuma jumped in front of the two strangers in black cloaks with red clouds decorating them. Then gave the two of them searching looks before Asuma grinned.

"Hey strangers haven't seen you around before" Asuma said in a fake friendly voice "I mean a lot of newcomers have come through the village in the last few days but you two...I think I'd remember you"

The shorter man sighed and ripped his straw hat off and stared at the two Jonin in a boredom and the glanced at his companion who then discarded his own hat to reveal striking blue hair and a pale blue face with what looked like gills on either side of his face.

"Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigami, what an honour two S-ranked criminals in our village at the onetime" Asuma said as he brought out his knuckles and spat out his cigarette.

"Itachi please I'm bored can't I kill one of them" Kisame said in a whiny voice.

The Uchiha shook his head and looked at the two Jonin "We didn't come here to fight, you know what we came here to do"

Kisame nodded and swung his huge bandaged sword rest upon his shoulder "yeah I know"

Kurenai looked at Itachi and Kisame in shock when she came to a frightening conclusion "Your after something in the village"

Itachi looked at the woman and merely stared before leaping forward only to get a kick to the head sending him flying onto the nearby stream. When the Uchiha looked up his Sharingan spinning wildly he saw Kakashi standing in Kurenai's place his headband revealing his own Sharingan.

"Kakashi Hatake, what an honour" Itachi said in a calm voice as the copy cat ninja jumped onto the water and faced him back.

"What are you after here it can't be Sasuke can it" Kakashi asked in a frosty voice at the thought of this monster taking away one of his students.

Itachi chuckled a little and shook his head "No, we are after my Charge"

Kakashi's eyes widened when suddenly Kisame and Itachi disappeared, Kurenai looked at Kakashi in confusion and then at Asuma who was also confused "Kakashi what did Itachi mean by his charge?"

The silver haired ninja just shook his head and gulped "When Itachi first got into ANBU he was given the honour of protecting and training one of the most amazing and promising ANBU to ever enter the ranks" Kakashi said gulping a little too wet his dry throat.

Asuma stared at Kakashi in fear and then turned to Kurenai "Itachi is after Kitsune"

Jiraiya stared at the two council members in annoyance as the practically ordered him to become Hokage and then shook his head in the negative "Sorry but the whole Hokage business isn't for me"

The two council members scowled at the toad sage and then old man stepped forward "Please Jiraiya you are the most suited to the job, you are a sannin of the village, one of the thirds students himself"

Jiraiya nodded and held up a hand "Yes its true I am his student but you are forgetting one other...someone who would be more suited to the political gig then I would" Jiraiya said a twinkle setting in his eyes.

"Who"

"The Slug Princess, Master of Elixirs and Potions and my teammate the one and only: Tsunade" The council members looked at each other before nodding

'Very well if you can find and escort Lady Tsunade back here to become Hokage we will accept her, who will you take with you we can spare a few Jonin.."

"No"

The council men looked at Jiraiya in shock "What do you mean no"

Jiraiya turned back to the view and grinned "There is only one person I'll be taking with me"

Naruto stared at Kakashi in annoyance as the silver haired ninja tried to tell him that he was in danger, "Look Kakashi, I don't really trust you so I'm not gonna even think that anything will hurt me in the village and secondly I'm leaving the village soon anyway"

Kakashi looked at Naruto in shock "What do you mean?"

Naruto shrugged and then stretched his arms up "Dunno, Pervy Sage just told me to pack a bag because he was taking me on a mission to find some old lady and at the same time teach me some new Jut-su"

Kakashi looked around and then down at Naruto who just gave him an annoyed glance before turning on his heel and walked away "See ya Sensei"

Kakashi swore and then leapt away to find the Toad sage, and when he did he gripped his shoulder and spun him around and looked at him frantically "You and Naruto need to leave the village...NOW!"  
"Wow Kakashi what are you talking about were leaving later on this afternoon" Jiraiya said pulling Kakashi from him "and anyway why do you want Naruto out of the village so much I thought I told you to start respecting him/"

Kakashi looked around and then shook his head "No you don't understand Itachi and Kisame are here for Naruto"

Jiraiya's eye widened and he swore "dammit they shouldn't need Naruto for another few years" Kakashi gave Jiraiya a accusing glance

"Why are they after Naruto?"

Jiraiya bit his lip before sighing "Okay Itachi and Kisame aren't working alone, they are a part of a band of nine missing Nin under the name of Akatsuki, they are searching for all nine tailed demons, but from what I've learnt I don't think they plan on just taking Kyuubi from Naruto" he said in a wise voice "Why do you think I told you I'd take over Naruto's training, your good Kakashi but when it comes to these guys Naruto needs to be able to deal with nine of them, he needs to be the very best ninja he can be"

Kakashi nodded and then rubbed a hand on his forehead, "Okay but Itachi is after Naruto, there is nowhere he can hide in the village from him"

Jiraiya nodded and then the both of them leapt off the balcony.

Naruto stretched out on his bed sighing as he relaxed, he was going on a big mission with Pervy sage which meant he wouldn't be getting a lot of sleep so if he was going to train to his fullest potential he was gonna have to be fully rested. But just as he was about to go to sleep someone knocked on his door loudly.

"Coming" he called out as he jumped off his bed and leapt towards the door. When he opened it he was frozen when two eyes that he hadn't seen since he was eight stared back at him.

"Hello Kitsune...you've grown"

Naruto gulped and nodded as he stared at Itachi's cold dead eyes "Yeah, I sure have, I'm not in ANBU at the moment" Itachi nodded and gripped Naruto's wrist

"I know, I've been watching you let's go for a walk shall we" Naruto stared at Itachi for a moment before he nodded"

"ITACHI" Naruto froze once again when he heard the familiar voice. Itachi turned his head and stared at his little brother who was glaring at him with pure hatred n his eyes.

"Kisame take care of Kitsune" Confusion flickered into Sasuke's eyes for a second only to be replaced with hatred as Kisame roughly grabbed Naruto and pulled him to his chest.

" Sasuke get out of here this doesn't concern you" Naruto screamed making Sasuke falter.

"Are you telling me to leave you with him" Sasuke asked in a small voice "I can't do that Naruto"

"You always were jealous of him taking up my time when we were kids" Sasuke gave Itachi another confused Look and was going to strike when suddenly the hallway turned into what looked like the inside of a stomach.

"Let the boy go" Sasuke looked behind him and gulped when he saw Jiraiya standing behind him glaring daggers at Kisame who let Naruto go and pushed him into Itachi's waiting arms. "I'm not gonna hurt him I just want him to remember all the fun times we had"

Naruto closed his eyes as the memories came flooding back.

_Flashback_

_Naruto walked happily beside Ookami who was laughing because of the tiny Anbu's actions "Kitsune, your meeting your new guardian today try to be a little more controlled" he said laughing as he looked down at the young child. _

_Naruto nodded and smiled behind his mask and then stopped when Ookami did and then looked at the ANBU in a weasel mask. _

"_Hello" he said politely_

"_Hello" Weasel said back his voice deep and a little awkward compared to his short stature. _

_Ookami cleared his voice and then motioned for them both to take their masks off "Weasel Meet Kitsune you will be taking care of him for now on" Itachi stared down at Naruto and then held out his hand to the young child and nodded. _

"_Hello I'm Itachi Uchiha, I will be taking care of you from now on" he said in a calm and polite tone. _

_Naruto grinned back and shook Itachi's hand in his much smaller one "Hello I'm Naruto Uzumaki, please take care of me from now on" _

_Itachi looked down at Naruto smiled back while Ookami looked on proudly at the two new ANBU who had just bonded. _

_Flashback_

"You remember don't you Naruto" Itachi said as he swept Naruto's bangs back "What fun we used to have, how I used to play with you and treat you like a brother" he whispered in Naruto's ear.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and then kicked Itachi sending him flying and Naruto crumbling to the floor. The toad sage picked his student up and looked him over and saw that he wasn't hurt merely shaken, turning back to deal with the two missing Ninja Jiraiya swore when he saw the two of them had escaped. 'Naruto are you ready to leave" The blonde looked up and nodded and then Jiraiya looked back to Sasuke and Kakashi "You take care of things here, I bring Tsunade back"

Sasuke watched as Naruto walked off with the toad sage a million thoughts running through his head _could Naruto be...Kitsune? _

As they walked out of the village Jiraiya turned to Naruto and looked down on him "Naruto I want you to tell me about how you know Itachi and I want to know everything" he said in a serious voice.

Naruto nodded and grabbed at his seal before looking down "You remember how I told you that the last six years of my life was spent in ANBU , well Itachi entered into ANBU around about three months after I did" Jiraiya nodded and motioned for the young boy to continue "In an effort to give me a sort of family, the Hokage ordered my Captain Ookami to find me a guardian, someone who would stick to me like glue, train me and in a way love me" Naruto said smiling a little "Ookami chose Itachi" Jiraiya stared at Naruto in shock before nodding for the boy to keep going "Itachi trained me and in a way became my brother, we spent more time together than Itachi did with his own family, if I was called out on mission Itachi would go with me, Itachi would do anything for me, and in time he started spending time with me outside of work hours, he would take me around the village in a hooded cloak and show me what the others kids would do, it went on like that for a year and a half, but a month before my seventh birthday, he came to my room and told me he was leaving the village, I didn't think anything of it until he told me he would come back for me and make me the ultimate ninja, I never saw him after that night...until today"

"So that's why he was so fond with you, you were the closest living person near him for a better part of two years" Jiraiya said scrubbing his face with his hands "You were his charge"

Naruto gripped his shirt above his stomach and gulped looking up at Jiraiya with sad eyes "Why are they after me?"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto closely for a minute before sighing and sitting down and putting a hand on Naruto's stomach and smiling sadly "I wish I could say that they wanted just the Kyuubi...but I have reason to believe that they want you" Naruto looked up at Jiraiya and then smiled sadly.

"Why would they want me, I'm not special not without Kyu" Jiraiya put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and shook his head "If I knew Naruto I would tell you but at the moment I don't have any clue as to what they want with you"

Naruto nodded and then exhaled lightly "Well then I'm gonna have to get a lot stronger if I'm gonna have to deal with Itachi and his big Freaky Fish guy of a partner" he said smiling before he quickly ran through the summoning hand signs and then slammed his hand down. When the smoke cleared Naruto put his hands down and immediately Gamakichi jumped up and onto his head "Although I can't do anything without my buddy here"

"**KIT SOMETIMES I REALLY AM AMAZED AT YOUR CHILDISH TENDANCEIS" **Kyuubi said laughing loudly

Naruto grinned at Jiraiya who nodded and smiled before he began walking off towards some unknown city "Hey Kid are we going on a road trip" Gamakichi asked happily as he looked all around.

"Yep and I'm gonna get much stronger just you watch" Jiraiya laughed as he looked back at Naruto and then grinned _Just like you Minato, oh how I wished you could see him, he's grown up well_.


	14. Naruto's hardest JutSu

**Chapter 13-The Rasengan-Make it Or Break it, Naruto's hardest Jut-su**

Naruto followed Jiraiya through the forest laughing with Gamakichi as the tiny frog tried explaining what his little brother had tried doing the other day. When they got to the edge of the cliff Naruto fell silent as he looked upon the bustling city with bright lights strung up in every direction.

"What's going on here?" Naruto asked looking at Jiraiya with a confused look and then back down at the city "it looks like there's a festival going on or something?"

Jiraiya nodded and then put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and grinned down at the toad and the boy "That's right the festival here is going to be going on for a while, and I need to gather some information on Tsunade's whereabouts"

Naruto glared at Jiraiya suspiciously and then sighed "You just want to research for your books don't you" he said pinching the bridge of his nose.

Jiraiya laughed and then scratched the back of his head before blushing a little "Where'd you get that idea?" he asked laughing nervously making Naruto and Gamakichi roll their eyes.

"And to think pop actually likes this guy?" the tiny toad said rolling his eyes annoyed Naruto laughed and reached up and scratched the toad on the head making him hum in pleasure.

Jiraiya became serious and pulled Naruto aside and stared him down in the eyes "Listen, I need to make you into the best ninja you can be so when we are here we will start to train you as such got it" Naruto hung his head and nodded sadly "Look kid I wish I could say that you were like every other ninja out there. But you're not the same as everyone else, you were an ANBU officer for a good portion of your life and you have a demonic big brother, you will never be a normal kid no matter how hard you try"

Naruto gulped and nodded before clearing his throat 'I get it, I guess my dream of being normal won't really ever become a reality" he said scratching the back of his head. Jiraiya shook his head and then looked at the festival below him "Go have fun but remember to always be on your guard do you understand" Naruto and Gamakichi nodded excitedly before Naruto's face fell into one of depression.

Jiraiya watched as the boy's face became clouded "What's wrong kid?"

Naruto looked down and smiled sadly "the very first time I went to a festival was with Itachi, running into him made me remember everything"

Jiraiya smiled and then put a hand on the younger boys shoulder "You may be his charge but you are my student and I will protect you from him with my life" Naruto's eyes widened and then his face became a one of joy "Now get"

Naruto yelled out in joy and then jumped down the cliff and onto the street the tiny toad on his head letting a delighted yell as his friend leapt through the air. Jiraiya shook his head and then cracked his knuckles and began to walk down the street when a bar girl grinned and winked at him. "Well Hi There"

Jiraiya blushed and then like a man possessed he walked into the bar and slung his arm around the girl's shoulders.

Back in the leaf village, Sakura was staring at the clothes on her bed and as she ran her fingers through them she couldn't help but smile sadly. Spread across her bed was the various outfits that she had worn when she had been impersonating Lady Sara. As she came across a bright vibrant green mid thigh dress the memories of the day came rushing back to her.

_Flashback_

_Sakura laid her hand in Gaara's and closed her eyes as she felt the sand caress her wrist, today she had to make an appearance and Temari and Kankuro had been ordered by Gaara to stay home and leave her protection to him. Ever since she had given into Gaara's lust filled glances the sand ninja had been very protective of her and hardly trusted Kankuro to be around her, Baki was allowed to be around her and Temari was the only one other than the Jonin and Gaara who was allowed to hold her hand as they walked around the village. _

"_Are you ready Milady" Gaara said in his cold voice and Sakura nodded as they stepped out of the house where she was immediately stared at by everyone in the village. Sakura made her eyes seductive and misty all the while she squeezed Gaara's hand so that he knew she was with him. _

"_I'm yours Gaara remember"_

_Flashback_

Sakura frowned as the memories flashed by her, it was scary how far she had gone with Gaara just because of what Naruto had asked of her, and she had done it willingly like it was nothing. As she fingered the clothing she remembered that this was the dress where the two of them had gotten the furthest, in all reality Sakura had thought she was going to lose her virginity to the sand ninja that day as he had been more assertive that day.

"Going through the memories" Sakura looked up in shock and saw Sasuke staring at her blankly as she held the material between her fingers.

"Sasuke I can explain" she said in a soft voice but Sasuke shook his head.

"You know the whole month I was training I kept wondering where you were, I hadn't heard about you at all and then I kept remembering Lady Sara, the way she acted when we first met and then I got the silly notion that you were Miss Sara but I waved that idea away but then I figured it all out" he said his voice becoming laced with fury and anger.

"You're mad that was to be expected, but you weren't supposed to find out" Sakura said not looking up at the raven who began walking towards her.

"You wanna know what sealed your identity perfectly" he said pausing and then looked away from Sakura in what looked like hurt "You have hand like bruises all over your arms and back, I know for a fact that Gaara had a tight grip on Lady Sara and he gripped her in every place you have bruises" Sakura glanced down at her bruises that were still fading and then looked at Sasuke tears brimming in her eyes.

"What do you want me to say...you want me to say I'm sorry, I am you don't think that everytime he kissed me or everytime I let him touch me that I didn't feel horrible but I put up with it" she cried her tears not quite spilling over.

Sasuke put a hand either side of her on the bed and looked into her eyes pleadingly "Tell me why, why would you spend a whole month with them letting him kiss and touch you"

Sakura looked into Sasuke's eyes and then put a hand on Sasuke's face and smiled "I did It because it's what Kunochi do" Sasuke's eyes went wide and Sakura looked down in sorrow "What did you think we learnt about when we were separated the number one kunochi rule is that if the mission requires it...you must use every advantage you can to make sure the mission succeeds"

Sasuke shook his head and then pressed Sakura against the bed, "Did you even think about how this would affect me!"

"Affect you?" Sakura whispered in confusion.

"Yes me, haven't you noticed the way I act around you the way my body does?" He asked as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair "I mean it's so stressful I only started noticing you when you stopped noticing me, and now I can't stop thinking about you, my body goes hot whenever I'm around you and I can't stop it, how could you have not noticed" Sakura looked at Sasuke in shocked before she slide around until she was sitting on the ravens lap making him gulp.

"Who said I ever stopped noticing you?" she whispered before leaning down and kissed him full on the lips. Sasuke's eyes went wide and then with a groan they fell back onto the bed.

Naruto stared at the valley below while Gamakichi ate the pocky he had been given. As the sun began to set the blonde ninja touched the bandages surrounding his face and then smiled softly. Sometimes it felt like he was always trying to impress someone, either it be Kakashi or Zabuza it didn't matter.

"**KIT YOU SOULDN'T LET SUCH TRIVAL MATTERS BOTHER YOU" **Kyuubi said in an old and tired voice. Naruto grinned and nodded before rubbing Gamakichi's head making the little toad turn and grin up at him with pocky still full in his mouth.

"Gamakichi um you have a bit of candy here" Naruto said laughing as he wiped the chocolate covered candy from his friend's mouth. "How do you like the day?"

"I like it because I'm spending it with you" the tiny toad said before stilling and then drooping sadly "Pops wants me to come home something about me spending more time with you then the family"

Naruto nudged the tiny toad affectionately and smiled warmly "Don't worry I'll summon you again in a few days when your dad isn't as annoyed how does that sound?" Gamakichi nodded happily and then saluted before dispersing making Naruto laugh a little.

"**HE HAS BEEN A GOOD FRIEND TO YOU" **Naruto smiled and nodded before leaning back and sighing **"WHAT TROUBLES YOU YOUNG ONE" **

Naruto looked at the grass swaying on either side of him and then just looked at it sadly "I guess I want to be my own person"

"**WHAT DOES THAT MEAN LITTLE ONE YOU'RE NOT MAKING MUCH SENSE" **Kyuubi said in a confused growl as he settled down next to his little brother.

"Well just think of it my whole life o have been someone else and then I copied Kakashi because I looked up to him and then just to get back at him I started to wear a bandage mask like Zabuza its just...I want to be my own person" Naruto said as he looked at the orange sky which made his halo of blonde locks glow.

"**LITTLE KIT, YOU ARE THE MOST SPECIAL PERSON I HAVE EVER MET, YOU HAVE A LIGHT THAT WON'T GO OUT NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU DROWN IT IN BLOODSHED, NO ONE CAN TAKE THAT FROM YOU, SO WHAT IF YOU COPIED YOUR SENSEI'S YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE AT THE MOMENT, YOU HAVE YEARS TO FIGURE IT OUT SO DON'T RUSH IT LITTLE ONE" **Kyuubi said in a kind and warm voice making Naruto nod and stretch out his body before jumping up and sighing.

"Guess I should go find Pervy Sage" Naruto grinned when he heard Kyuubi snicker and then jumped down into the festival where an old man was shocked when Naruto just randomly landed next to him.

Naruto gave the man a confused look before shaking his head and then smiled as he walked down the street. Naruto stretched his arms up and then looked around him then rubbed his good eye and sighed, it seemed like it was almost time for him to catch some sleep, sometimes his sleeping schedule sucked.

"Kyu how long till I can sleep do you think?" Naruto asked as he stared at the very slowly darkening sky with boredom.

"**KIT, YOU WON'T BE SLEEPING FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER I KNOW IT SUCKS BUT HANG IN THERE" ** Kyuubi said in a sad tone of voice

Naruto groaned and hit his forehead and was just about to scream in frustration when he heard the same bellowing laugh that belonged to Jiraiya "Please tell me he's not where I think he is?"

Kyuubi for once stayed silent and just curled up into a ball and peaked at his little brother from between his tails. "That's it he's dead" Naruto growled as he marched into the whore house and glared at his teacher who had a scantily clad woman on either side of him.

When Jiraiya felt Naruto's killing aura he turned and gasped happily when he saw him "Naruto my little buddy where you been, and where's your little toad friend?" he asked loudly making the two girls giggle.

Naruto sighed and walked up to Jiraiya and grabbed his ear "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?" he shouted making a man in the dark corner spill his sake on him.

"You brat" Naruto looked up and saw an angry man in a white trench coat with a sake stain on it glaring at him "this was an expensive jacket"

Naruto sighed and was about to attacked when Jiraiya stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him "Let me show you the Jut-su I'm gonna be teaching you" Naruto nodded and stepped back to watch.

When Jiraiya parted his feet and held out his left hand Naruto was confused but when the spinning orb of chakra formed in his hand he was left in awe at the jut-su's power. Even Kyuubi seemed to have fallen silent at the sheer power flowing from the jut-su. "Rasengan!" Jiraiya said before slamming the spinning orb into the man's stomach sending him twirling into a nearby water balloon stand.

"No way" Naruto whispered and then looked up at Jiraiya who looked all smug and happy "That was more powerful then..."he trailed off.

Jiraiya looked down at Naruto and nodded seriously "Yes this move is more powerful then Sasuke and Kakashi's chidori, but it also means it's harder to learn and takes more discipline to learn"

Naruto gulped and nodded, Jiraiya smiled fondly at Naruto and then asked the man for as many empty water balloons as he could get, once he had them and started leading Naruto to a small clearing he sighed and looked up at the sky _Minato he may be the only one who can truly master this jut-su and make it his own_ _please forgive me_

"Okay as you saw the jut-su before this is an extremely strong jut-su A-ranked bordering on S-Ranked Jut-su, in fact this jut-su was the fourth Hokage's own creation" Naruto's eyes went wide and he felt his excitement flare up.

"AWESOME! I'm gonna learn this in 3 days just you watch" Naruto said making Jiraiya laugh

"Three days that's a good one kid, it took the fourth 3 years to create the jut-su what makes you think you'll learn it in three days" Jiraiya said mockingly.

Naruto glared at Jiraiya and then crossed his arms "Just tell me what I have to do"

The toad sage smiled and then nodded before picking up a water balloon and grinned "Okay the Rasengan has three steps to it, this is the first" he said before focusing on the balloon and then right before Naruto's eyes it was as if the water had ants or something in it as it began to spike in different directions and the burst opened and spilled it's water out onto the ground. "in the first step you have to rotate your chakra into the water to make the water balloon pop" Naruto nodded and then picked up the water balloon and grinned before pushing his chakra into it making the rubber balloon expand in a smooth circle but didn't become spiky and look like Jiraiya's had. Frowning Naruto took a deep breath and began to move his chakra again only to groan when once again the balloon only expanded.

"This might be a little harder than I thought" he said scratching his head and looked over at Jiraiya who merely smiled at him and then sat down against the tree.

Kakashi hummed as he looked out at the village. It was slowly being rebuilt but at the same time it was nowhere near what it used to be. It reminded him a lot of the relationship he shared with Naruto, why the young blonde had thanked him and given him a grateful smile when he took Sasuke away from where Itachi had ambushed him, he knew that the blonde was nowhere near close enough to trusting him again. When Naruto had glared at him that day he had felt as if he had crushed the boy, he hadn't meant to do anything of the sort, but he had nothing to teach the blonde, he couldn't teach him anything worthy enough to take down the Hyuga and in the end Naruto had found Jiraiya who had not only made him strong enough to fight and defeat Neji but also take on Gaara and get him to surrender. Kakashi winced when he remembered his brutal reunion with the Toad Sage.

_Flashback_

_Kakashi sighed as he slowly walked back to his empty apartment. After training Sasuke for a good week in Tai jut-Su the Uchiha was slowly getting it, although a bit too slowly for the scarecrows taste. For supposed genius Sasuke took a long time to master the basics of the style he was teaching him and slightly irritated the silver haired Jonin because secretly he was still a little mad about what he said to Naruto, he could have been teaching someone who he knew and could teach him accordingly but Naruto wasn't six anymore and he didn't have anything more to teach the blonde. _

"_KAKASHI_!" _the silver haired ninja froze as he heard the bellow and looked around him and saw Jiraiya storming towards him with hell's fury in his eyes. _

"_Why hello Jiraiya it's been awhile" he said smiling at the older ninja who just glared then without any warning punched him clear in the face sending him sprawling straight to the ground. _

"_I met him Kakashi I met Naruto" The scarecrow gulped as he heard the fury laced in each word the toad sage said "And after a bit of prodding I got to find out how the kid has been doing for his last twelve years, and not only do I find out that he was an ANBU officer for more than half his life but that his sensei and the one he looked up to rejected him by telling him he couldn't deal with him" Kakashi winced as his hateful words from earlier were thrown back at him "Imagine how shocked I was when I heard who his sensei was?"_

_Kakashi picked himself up and looked away guiltily "You don't think I haven't been able to find him to apologize I feel sick that I told him that" the silver haired ninja said making Jiraiya sigh and rub his forehead. _

"_Well it doesn't matter anymore he found someone else to teach him" he said looking at the upset Jonin who looked up in surprise._

"_Really who please Jiraiya I need to know he's in good hands" Kakashi said his eyes wide at the thought of Naruto training with someone like Gai who would try to put him in that disgusting green jumpsuit. _

_Jiraiya chuckled a bit and held his hands up in surrender "I've decided to take on the boy as my student" Kakashi looked at Jiraiya in shock and then shook his head "The kid's got talent managed to summon Gamakichi on his first try, befriended him pretty quickly too"_

_Kakashi smiled warmly at the thought of Naruto learning to summon and then he frowned and gave Jiraiya a searching glance "Are you the reason Naruto hasn't been seen in the village for a while?"  
Jiraiya shook his head and shrugged "Nah, that's all the kid, he doesn't sleep very often in fact I've only seen him sleep once, he just trains night and day, but it's worth it, he's getting better faster" _

_Kakashi nodded and then gave Jiraiya and sad look "Tell him I asked about him"_

"_I will, but I'm not promising a miracle or anything" _

_Flashback_

Sighing the silver haired Jonin perked up when he heard his female student's cheery laugh. Sometimes he was amazed at how easily Naruto had been able to shield the pink haired girl from a lot. But then at the same time Naruto goes and asks Sakura to live with the sand trio for a whole month, and what does she go and do, she runs off and lives with them without even questioning Naruto's motives. He loved that Sakura trusted Naruto so much but at the same time he thought that maybe it was a bad idea to send Sakura to live with them and seduce the psycho red head who had almost killed Rock Lee in their battle. But he couldn't say anything now; it was over and done with now. As the laughing got louder he was surprised to see Sakura wasn't alone but was with Sasuke who had his arm draped around her neck where it rest against her chest comfortably. Sasuke was looking at the pinkette smirking as she laughed at something he said, and to Kakashi it looked as if they were lovers, but that was impossible: Sasuke had the emotional outlook of an ice cube.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Shaken out of his stupor Kakashi looked down and Saw Sakura was looking up at him waving slightly.

The scarecrow jumped down in front of his students and was a little shocked when Sasuke smirked at Kakashi with a look that said I'm-getting-some-and-your-not. What shocked him even more was the more womanly aura Sakura was releasing; it was obvious that the two of them had taken a big step and slept together or they were going too...and soon.

"Why hello you two how have you been?" Kakashi asked him one revealed eye crinkled up into a U giving the impression he was smiling.

Sasuke pulled Sakura close to him and nipped her ear and then smirked "Oh we've been good, productive even" he said in a cocky voice making Sakura smile a little and nudge him with her elbow.

Kakashi had to stop himself from choking on his own spit at his normally emotionally stunted student displaying such a level of lust and affection. "You two haven't you know" he said coughing.

Sakura laughed and shook her head "No, we not stupid Kakashi, I mean I know Sasuke wants to restore his clan and all that but seriously...were thirteen"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head and shrugged "Hey I lost mine at thirteen" he said in offense and Sasuke gave him an awed look while Sakura made an uncomfortable face.

"Sensei...bit too much information" she said in an unsure voice. Kakashi blushed suddenly and ducked his head before clearing his throat and beamed at his two students.

"You two play safe now" Kakashi smirked when suddenly twin screams of "YOU SICK PERVERT!" coursed through the air. Sometimes Kakashi couldn't imagine his life without his three students.

He knew for a fact he'd never take another team after this one, he couldn't it just wouldn't work, no one could replace his team, he was both lucky and unlucky to have Team 7 under his wing, he was lucky because there wasn't a better bunch of Genin he could asked for but at the same time he was unlucky because he knew that if he took on another team he would be comparing them to him, like: _He isn't as talented in Nin Jut-su as Sasuke, Oh she isn't as Smart as Sakura, why can't he be as fast as Naruto was_, and he couldn't do that to innocent students, the simple fact was that no other team would live up to his expectations, Team 7 would be his first and only team.

"KAKASI MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" the silver haired man sighed and turned to face Gai who was...was he skipping, towards him.

"Yes Gai?"  
The loud ninja gave his 'eternal rival' his Gai pose before his eye began to water "Kakashi where is your bright but hip student Naruto, he has missed five days of training!" he bawled making Kakashi cringed at the thought about Naruto hanging around Gai too much.

"Naruto has gone with Jiraiya on a mission, he took him out because...of the incident" Kakashi said and Gai's face sobered up straight away, he had heard about Itachi entering the village as an attempt to capture the blonde genin.

"I see well then I'm glad Naruto is out of the village, if he's hanging around I don't think Naruto would be able to keep his Kitsune side hidden" Kakashi nodded and then ran his hands through his wild hair.

"This village has treated Naruto as nothing more than a weapon and now it's back fired" he whispered "and it's my fault"

Gai gave Kakashi a pitying glance and then moved the confused Jonin to a more secluded place "Kakashi you had no idea when Itachi first joined ANBU that he was gonna end up murdering his whole family, and what's more you didn't know he was going to come after Naruto again" Kakashi nodded sadly and then looked out at the sunset and sighed _Wherever you are Naruto...stay safe. _

Naruto glared at the water balloon in his hand and then winced as pain shot through his hands like fire in his veins, it had been two days since he had started the water balloon test and for two days he had been able to recreate what Jiraiya had done so easily. It frustrated him so much that the perverted hermit could do it so easily but he couldn't even get pass the first part, and then added to the fact that Kyuubi had no idea how to help him at all made him even more frustrated. Sighing he picked himself up on shaking arms unaware of the gaze that rested on his form below. Jiraiya frowned as he watched as Naruto struggled to pick himself up and then clenched the water balloon and began to spin it once again.

"I'll give you one thing kid your persistent, even when you fall down you pick yourself back up" the toad sage whispered _But can your chakra pathway's handle it, no matter how much chakra the gods and Kyuubi have pushed into your system this could destroy you if you push it too far. _

Naruto collapsed onto his knees and began to pant hard as the pain in his hands overwhelmed him and he dropped the balloon again as he screamed in frustration. "Hey kid call it a night" Jiraiya ordered making Naruto jump and then nod wearily.

As he walked back to the hotel Naruto ran through all the problems that he was having with the first step in the Jut-su. _Why does my balloon expand and stretch but it doesn't explode like the Pervy sages did, why?_ Naruto groaned silently when he saw his bed and flopped down exhaustedly.

"**LITTLE KIT, IT'S TIME YOU SLEPT...I MEAN IT NOT DOZE I MEAN SLEEP" **The great fox demon said in a intimidating voice making Naruto grin at his older brother tiredly before nodding and falling into a deep sleep.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto in shock at how quick the young child fell asleep before he picked up one of his hands and winced when he saw the swirling burn mark on his left hand and the large burns covering his right hand.

"God kid what did you do to yourself" he whispered before he got up and turned the lights off and gave Naruto one more backwards glance before walking out of the room he had research to do.

After four hours of dead sleep Naruto woke up to a light fluttering against his face, and when he opened his eyes he saw a cute white and orange cat sitting above him meowing quietly. Confused Naruto sat up and saw the cat jump over to his water balloon and then watched mesmerized as the cat began to push the water balloon from each paw making it spin. The suddenly the water balloon popped and after starring at the spot for a few seconds a large smile spread across the blondes face.

"Kyu, I have an idea" The demon nodding as he figured Naruto's plan.

Jiraiya was shocked when he felt a large spray of water dumped on his face. When he looked up he saw Naruto standing above him cheekily smiling down at him with water dripping from between his fingers.

"Morning" the blonde said smiling happily as he looked down at his surprised teacher "What's the next step"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto and then down at his hand and then crossed his arms "Show me how you did it"

Naruto nodded and then picked up another water filled water balloon and then began twirling his chakra like he had been taught to and then used his left hand he began to paw at the balloon in different direction in an extremely fast pace making his hand almost blur and then with one final paw the balloon exploded and water spilled all over the floor. Jiraiya chuckled and shook his head before smiling at Naruto _This kid has made the Rasengan his own, maybe not how it supposed to be used but still only this kid could be able to change the fourths jut-su _

"Okay kid your ready to move onto the next step" Naruto jumped up and cheered "After breakfast" Naruto visibly deflated at this and pouted something fierce but stayed silent. Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle as he reminded the blonde that he needed food to keep his energy up. After that small little comment Naruto had quietened down and had followed him down to the restaurant where the young woman serving the food was quick to serve them when she saw Naruto who she had developed a small crush on while the blonde was staying there.

"Here, I made this for you" she said her blushed spread across her face making Naruto smile at her "Hope you like it"

"Thank you, I'm sure we will" Naruto said smiling at her brightly before attacking his food with vigour. Jiraiya smirked and shook his head before he poked Naruto in the forehead making him look up owlishly. "What?"

Jiraiya laughed and shook his head again "Are you even aware that the young girl who just served us has a huge crush on you?" Naruto cocked his head to the side and then looked over to the girl who quickly turned her face away from where she had been starring at Naruto.

"Huh I never noticed, it's just I guess I'm not used to seeing girls react like that seeing as in the village I'm only seen as a friend or a brother to the girls" The blonde said in a surprised voice as he stared at the girl before smiling warmly and waved at her "Shame I don't feel the same"

Jiraiya shook his head at the boy before lacing his fingers together and gave Naruto a searching look "So how'd you figure it out?"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya before smiling "I watched the cat" Jiraiya gave Naruto a totally confused look before shaking his head and putting his hands up and waved them in an I-don't-wanna-know manner.

Naruto shrugged and started to scoff down his food when suddenly he lost all feeling in his right hand and dropped his chopsticks making his eyes go wide in shock. Jiraiya watched silently as his young student worked frustrated with his chopsticks to try to get them to stay in his hand.

'_Has it become too much for him, has the strain finally gotten to him, and am I pushing him to do something beyond even his abilities?'_ Jiraiya thought sadly as Naruto finally gave up on his chopsticks and began to eat with hands.

"So Pervy Sage when we starting stage 2?" Naruto said between mouthfuls of rice.

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched and all the compassionate and kind thoughts he had about taking it slow on Naruto flew out the window "As soon as your done" he gritted out, why glaring at the kid who just gave him a happy grin.

"Awesome!"

Jiraiya watched sadly as Naruto collapsed once again when he couldn't make the rubber ball he had been given explode like he had done a few days earlier. At first he had thought that the blonde would get it through pure skill, but it was obvious to the Toad hermit now, that why Naruto was a genius in some ways when it really came down to it, the only way Naruto really got anywhere was through hard work, and if he ever wanted to master the Rasengan he'd have a lot of it heading his way. "Good Luck Kid" he whispered before he turned and walked back to the village.

"It hurts so much, and the worst thing is I can't even make the darn thing squeak" Naruto panted before he stared at the rubber ball in his hand with annoyance and then sighed as he stared at the clouds floating overhead. He could still remember the first time he had ever done something like this.

_Flashback_

_Weasel and Ookami were both reading silently as Kitsune sat on his bed and stared out the sky through the tiny window his room provided. It had been nine months since he had joined ANBU and two months since Itachi Uchiha\Weasel had taken over his guardianship and in those nine month he had done nothing but spill others blood. _

"_Kitsune is something bothering you" Naruto didn't even bother looking around to see who had spoke he had become accustomed to his new guardians voice fairly quickly and the flat monotone voice defiantly belonged to the Uchiha._

"_Yes" He said shortly making both ANBU officers close their books and look at him closely, not once had Naruto ever been bothered in the base, he loved each of the officers and found their company thrilling. _

"_What is it?" Ookami asked kindly _

_Naruto looked over at them and then back out at the window "I want to see the clouds but I can't" Ookami and Weasel shared a look and the Uchiha cleared his throat and shook his head. _

"_Ah I don't think that would be a good idea" he said in his normal emotionless voice making Naruto sigh and Ookami shake his head. _

"_Normal kids get to go out and play and go to ninja school and all that other cool stuff but I don't wanna do any of that stuff I just want to go and watch clouds" Naruto said looking down sadly as he was denied the one thing he had selfishly wanted for the first time in almost a year. _

_Ookami smiled from behind his porcelain mask and then nodded "Your right you don't ask to do any of those things, Weasel stay with him a sec" Weasel nodded in confusion as the elder ANBU officer quickly left Naruto's room and then returned a few minutes with a black hooded cloak. _

"_Kitsune take off you mask" Naruto looked at Ookami in shock but did as he said and then almost immediately he was swamped in the large cloak with the hood drawn up so that it obscured his peripheral vision. "There you go" _

_Weasel nodded when he realized what his superior was thinking, "I will go changed" Ookami nodded and bent down and began to fiddle with Naruto's cloak a little more so the only thing you could see from his face were his two piercing blue eyes. _

"_Naruto I need you to do me a big favour okay" Ookami said in a pleading voice, Naruto looked up at him with curious eyes "I need you to stay silent when your around other villagers, when your alone with Itachi you are free to talk all you want but when you are around others please I begging you...stay silent" Naruto who didn't really understand nodded and then hugged his commander who hugged him back just as tightly. _

"_Is he ready" Itachi said from the doorway garbed in his usual Uchiha garb. _

_Ookami nodded and took Naruto by the hand and gave Naruto to Itachi and nodded at him once "Bring him back before 6 okay he has another mission" Itachi nodded and lead Naruto out of ANBU base and through the village where he got strange glances from the villagers who didn't know who the strangely garbed boy was. Itachi didn't stop until they reached a secluded clearing with a great view of the sky, when Naruto saw how clear the view was he was overwhelmed with happiness. The view from his ANBU window was always blurry and too small to actually see anything and by the time he left to go on his missions the sky had darkened as night would have fallen. _

"_What now" Itachi asked in a bored voice as he didn't know what to do next. Naruto shook his head and laid down on the grass and put his hands on his stomach and just stared up at the clouds and sighed in content. Itachi hesitantly slide down next to his charge and looked up at the sky. _

"_You must have a lot of patience" Naruto looked over at this guardian in confusion "To sit on your bed all day every day and stare out that tiny window just so you can get a glimpse of the sky which you find so appealing" Naruto nodded and Itachi took that as a sign as to continue "you need to apply this same patience to pain" Naruto turned onto his side and blinked at Itachi once "I've seen you take very painful wounds and you seem to stop fighting after you sustain them and just wait until the pain goes away until you can fight again, when you are put on a solo mission you won't have the asset of a team backing you, so you need to learn to push through your pain till you reach the point where your pain becomes numb and you can't feel it anymore" _

_Naruto rolled back over and fell into a thoughtful trance in which he stayed for several hours until Itachi took his back to the base. _

_Flash back_

Naruto's eyes widened and he flipped himself onto his feet and grabbed the rubber ball and gulped when he glanced at it "Funny how the man who's hunting me down is the one who most probably has given me the advice I needed to move forward huh Kyu" he whispered

"**HUNTING YOU DOWN ASIDE THAT BOY KNEW WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT AND HE WAS GOOD TO YOU...FOR A WHILE AT LEAST" **Naruto sighed and nodded, he couldn't argue with his big brother because at one point Itachi had been his whole world so he would be lying if he said Itachi didn't hold some place in his heart even now.

"Okay let's try this shall we" he said in breathless voice. Then with a small grunt he began pushing his chakra into the ball and then grit his teeth when a wave of pain wracked his body, but continued to push on, unaware the Jiraiya had come back and was watching him in awe. _"Focus and power" _Naruto continued to chant in his mind as the pain continued to lash through his body at muscle ripping levels. But when he thought he wouldn't be able to handle it anymore the rubber ball exploded sending him flying through the clearing and right into Jiraiya's arms who smiled down at him when the dazed Genin looked up at him.

"Pervy Sage?" Naruto weakly whispered in confusion

Jiraiya smiled warmly and nodded "You did good kid, you did good, but you can rest now, I'll talk to you later" Naruto nodded and faded into his mindscape where Kyuubi was waiting for him

"**REST NOW LITTLE ONE, SLEEP WELL, NO NIGHTMARES WILL HARM YOU TONIGHT" ** Naruto smiled tiredly and let himself collapse next to the great fox demon who curled his tails around him and nuzzled him tenderly, **"**_**YOU PUSH YOURSELF WAY TO HARD SOMETIMES LITTLE ONE, BUT I GUESS YOU WOULDN'T BE MY Naruto IF YOU DIDN'T"**_

"WHAT!"

Jiraiya took his fingers out of his ears when Naruto's voice finally lowered and then cleared his throat as he looked at the angered genin "Yes I have found where Lady Tsunade is hiding out and we will set off today" Naruto took a calming breath and Kyuubi continued to remind him that he couldn't kill his sensei even a pervert toad hermit like Jiraiya.

"You are aware that you're in the middle of my training right" he said between gritted teeth.

Jiraiya nodded but then put a hand on his students head "Yes but just think about it, on the way there you can talk to Gamakichi you haven't summoned him in a while have you?" Naruto's face turned to one of joy and he immediately ran through the hand signs and a few seconds later the small toad was standing before the two toad summoners.

"Naruto?" Gamakichi asked in awe as the two stared at each other and then after a moment the tiny toad launched himself at Naruto and grabbed his jacket and leapt up until he was lying on his head and was clutching his blonde hair. "It's been so long I thought you'd forgotten about me"

Naruto shook his head lightly and picked the frog up and cuddled him to his chest "No I've just been trying to master a really hard Jut-su so I haven't had any chakra left at the end of the day to summon you I would have called for you sooner but I haven't had the energy" the blonde said smiling down at the toad who smiled back at him.

Jiraiya smiled and shook his head _"geez when Gamakichi gets too big for Naruto to hold I wonder it Naruto will start riding his head like I do...most probably it is a sign of affection between summoners and their summons for them to have physical closeness" _Jiraiya said as he watched Gamakichi leap back onto Naruto's head and nestle himself into the blondes hair where he laid happily.

"Okay let's head off" Jiraiya said as the three of them left the village and started off towards their next destination. 

Sakura waved goodbye to Ino who waved back excitedly as she ran off with Shikamaru and Chouji. Even though Team 10 were being more active none of the genin teams from the last two years had even come close to comparing to Team 7's own mission rap sheet. For the last two weeks since Naruto had gone on his mission with his personal sensei, she and Sasuke had been keeping their relationship as secret as they could, although it was hard especially when they were making out on her bed and they only just sensed her mother walking towards her door in time. Thankfully her mother had left her alone for a week and she and Sasuke could have a little privacy, although she was still a little nervous about taking the last step unlike Naruto who had told her the day after the chunnin exam finals that he had lost his on a drunken night stand and that he didn't regret it one bit. He had told her it made him feel more mature and that he was getting older, but at the same time he didn't want her to rush it because the first time really hurt apparently. Sakura was shocked out of her musings when an arm draped itself around her shoulders.

"Hi there" Sakura smiled and leant into Sasuke and looked up at the Uchiha who was giving her a small smile himself although some would say it was a smirk.

"Hi yourself" she said back, sometimes she couldn't remember when she became immune to Sasuke's smirk or how she stopped becoming weak in the knees around him. Everytime she asked herself this question the only answer she would get was that Naruto had happened to her.

Sasuke smirked and pulled her against him and nuzzled into her neck making her breath become shallower. "We should go back to your house" he whispered and Sakura nodded before taking his hand and raced off towards her house.

As she fiddled with the lock Sasuke groaned and pushed against her and nuzzled her neck affectionately. Sakura gasped and then pushed the door open and then was pushed against it when it was slammed closed. Sasuke attacked her mouth making her giggle and kiss back making the raven groan in pleasure.

"Wait you mother" Sasuke groaned as he pulled away panting, Sakura shook her head and pushed herself against the raven more fully.

"Nope, she's not coming home for a week" Sasuke's eyes widened and before the pinkette really knew what was happening the raven and picked her up and raced towards the bedroom where he fell on the bed with her below him. "Being a little forward aren't we Sasuke" Sakura mocked 

Sasuke growled teasingly and then kissed her again, but suddenly the mood shifted and it was if the room had become too hot but at the same time the two of them weren't close enough and suddenly their kisses became a little less tame. Sasuke groaned as Sakura sucked on his tongue and then buried one of his hands in her hair and let the other one travel down her body. Sakura gasped and suddenly she was wearing too many clothes and so was Sasuke and before she knew what she was doing she pushed Sasuke back and pulled Sasuke's shirt over his head and then quickly brought their lips together. Sasuke made quick work of the dress she was wearing and threw it in the opposite direction and then continued to run his hands up and down her body making the pinkette groan into his mouth and if asked the raven would swear not even Naruto's pipe playing was a beautiful as that sound.

"Wait" He said pulling away slightly, "are we really going to do this?" Sakura looked at Sasuke for a second and then quickly sealed their lips why he hands undid the buttons on Sasuke's pants slowly. Sasuke took the hint and slowly took off his girlfriend's bike shorts which left her in her dark blue lacy underwear. Sasuke smirked and quickly made short work of the bar and then gasped as he felt Sasuke pulled down him boxers along with his pants. When he removed her panties he gave Sakura a searching look and when he didn't find any fear he kissed her forcibly and thrusted in at the same time electing a cry of pain from the pinkette. Hearing Sakura whimper in pain made Sasuke still even though it was hard for him as she was unbelievably tight, and then after a few minutes when Sakura wiggled her hips he found the courage to move again. Slowly as if a small fire being kindled all the awkwardness and pain-on Sakura's part-faded and was soon replaced by pure passion and soon Sakura was moaning Sasuke's name which in turn only made him push harder and faster and after a few minutes both of them came hard. Sasuke pulled out and pulled Sakura to his chest and kissed her damp forehead. "That was amazing, you were amazing" he panted.

Sakura giggled and kissed Sasuke's chest affectionately "You weren't too bad yourself handsome"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and then pulled the covers over Sakura and himself before he pulled Sakura close to him once again _'Oh God did I just have sex'_

Naruto glared at the bar Jiraiya had pulled him in front of and then turned at the Toad sage who was acting totally innocent, ever since arriving in the gambling town the Pervert ninja had been dragging the blonde youth to every open gambling hall and game saloon, it turns out Naruto was very good at most of the games and many times Jiraiya had left the halls a whole lot richer, and now it was night time and he was dragged Naruto to stand in front of one of the nicer looking pubs in the city.

"Pervy Sage I've allowed you to drag me to every open gambling hall in this town all day, not to mention you made me dispel Gamakichi so I couldn't talk to anyone, to make matters worse instead of training me you made me play every game the was pushed our way and now you intend to get me drunk?" Jiraiya looked into the cold eyes of his student and scratched the side of his nose nervously

"No whatever made you think that? I just thought you want to eat something seeing as we came up empty in this town even though we searched all day" Naruto sighed and motioned for the elder man to walk in and when they entered the pub Jiraiya froze in front of doorway and just stared and when Naruto followed his line of sight he saw a beautiful blonde woman with brown eyes and a small purple diamond in the middle of her forehead staring at Jiraiya just as equally shocked,, and then it hit Naruto who this person was.

"You're Tsunade aren't you" he said simply cocking his head to the side.


	15. I may be a Weapon: But i'm a good one!

**Chapter 14: Dark Truth: I am Just a Weapon, but I'm A Darn Good One**

Naruto silently ate his chicken as the two Sanin bickered across the table and then decided to observe Tsunade as he became bored after a few moments. It was true that she didn't look a day over 30 and she only looked 25 at the youngest so it was hard to imagine that the young largely endowed woman sitting across from him was really 50 years old like Jiraiya.

"Hi I'm Shizune" the young dark haired woman said as she patted the tiny pig that was resting on her lap "I'm Lady Tsunade's assistant"

"Naruto Uzumaki...I guess I'm Pervy Sage's student don't really know spend more time arguing and bickering with him then actually learning anything off him" Naruto said leaning back with his arms behind his head.

Tsunade turned and glared at Naruto who merely yawned and then pointed at him "And who is this brat!"

"This brat is Naruto Uzumaki and he's my new student!" Jiraiya said hugging Naruto tight to his chest making a tick appear right above his eyebrow "He may look a little rough but I tell you he's a genius and true diamond in the rough" he said dramatically

"I swear if you don't let me go I will hurt you" Jiraiya quickly let Naruto go and then settled back more comfortably.

"Well anyways I'm here on the behalf of the Leaf village" Tsunade sneered and then saw as Naruto gave her a bored almost dissatisfied glance.

"WHAT! You think your better than me you Brat!" she shouted as she felt the effects of alcohol enter her system.

Naruto wiped a bit of spit of his face and then just sighed once again before he leant back and waited for Jiraiya to finish "As I was trying to say...The third was killed, by Orochimaru" Tsunade stilled for a moment before she relaxed again and shrugged "you came all this way to tell me that?"

"No" the slug princess look up at this and gave her old teammate a long measuring glance "In his wake the third didn't pick another successor and the Leaf village has decided that you are to become the next Hokage"

Tsunade sneered and leant back crossing her arms as she went "And why would I do something stupid like take the Hokage's position, it's a stupid position to be in, all you do is end up dead"

Naruto felt a tremor of anger flash through him and had to grit his teeth to stop himself from jumping over the table and slamming into the woman in front of him. Jiraiya saw this and put a calming hand on his students shoulder and then turned and gazed at Tsunade fiercely "Tsunade! Stop being a child, look at those who have come before you, your own grandfather was the first Hokage, Minato was the Fourth"

"Oh and what happened to the both of them, my oh so great grandfather was killed protecting his brother and the village and in the end both my Grandfather and his brother perished, and Minato...that kid was like a son to me and what happened to him huh...he went and got himself killed all because he went up against the great demon lord" Naruto's fist slammed down onto the table and he glared at Tsunade fiercely

"You call yourself a Sannin" Jiraiya looked down at his furious student and then looked over at Tsunade who just gazed at the boy in shock "Stop whining, you dare speak of the fourth in disrespect, that man saved the village in a great display of courage and yet you sit here and have the nerve to disrespect him and call him an idiot...well news flash woman no one disrespects the fourth why I'm still alive"

Tsunade looked at the flashing blue eyes and gulped as she was instantly reminded of the great fourth Hokage himself. "What was your name again" she whispered looking at the boy in complete shock, no one had yelled at her in such anger and unrestraint fury in thirteen years.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, future Leaf village protector" Tsunade's eyes lit up with recognition and she looked over at Jiraiya who nodded subtly.

"_This is the nine tails jailor...he looks just like him" _the sannin thought as Naruto stood up and sneered down at her

"Pervy sage, if this woman is the one that the Council elders have chosen to be the next Hokage maybe I should just jump back into ANBU, or maybe I'll just become a hermit like you because from what I'm seeing now...she'd only turn her grandfathers work into a mockery" Naruto said before he turned on his heel and marched out the door.

Tsunade sat still for a moment processing everything while Jiraiya mentally counted down and the second he got to one Tsunade sprung up and shook her fist towards the door where Naruto was exiting "You little brat you and me outside...Now"

Naruto turned back a little and gave Tsunade an apathetic glance "Are you naturally daft I was already heading outside" Tsunade glared at Naruto even harder and before Shizune or Jiraiya could blink Tsunade and Naruto were outside facing each other.

"I hope you don't think you're going to win, because all I'm going to need to beat you...is this one finger" Tsunade mocked as she held up one finger, Naruto glared and then cracked his neck before he rushed forward and kicked up making Tsunade's eyes go wide, but true to what she said she blocked the kick with one finger and then sent the blonde genin flying back. "Geez kid what they been feeding you in the village?"

Naruto grinned and then held his hand out and began gathering chakra in his tow hands as he began spinning it much like he did with the water balloon _'I know it's not complete but I can't let her mock the fourth, I'll show her at least a small sliver of what it means to be a Hokage' _Naruto thought as he rushed towards the shocked sannin with the glowing blue ball of chakra which was streaming chakra.

"I can't be...the Rasengan?" the blonde Sannin whispered as the genin got closer and closer to her, but just before the spinning orb of chakra could hit her she slammed her finger into the ground making the ground shake slightly and for Naruto to fall forward and dispel the Jut-su so that he could catch himself in a roll. Naruto picked himself up and saw Tsunade glaring at Jiraiya who was just staring back at her with his arms crossed.

"Naruto you okay" Shizune asked as she rushed to his side.

Tsunade marched towards Jiraiya and stopped until she was a few feet from him "You taught him the Rasengan, how stupid could you be, that brat can't ever master something like that, he's just a snot nosed brat, I mean this kid looks like his hands aren't even stained yet, he's just a wet behind the ears newbie" Naruto turned his head away in shame and Jiraiya glared at Tsunade making her slightly shocked at the pure hate filled in his eyes

"That's enough Tsunade, that boy...That kid has been through more then you and I combined, you don't know him, so don't judge him and call him a wet behind the ears newbie...especially when"

"Enough!" Jiraiya looked over at Naruto who had his head bowed and was glaring at the floor like it had just insulted the fourth. "She doesn't have the right to know, she hasn't earned the right" Naruto whispered and Jiraiya nodded.

Tsunade smirked and cocked her hip to the side and then pointed at Naruto "What you have a bad childhood kid, you parents not take care of you huh" Jiraiya grained and shook his head as Naruto froze and the pierced Tsunade with a dark glare.

'You don't know me at all...I have no parents" Tsunade took a step back and Naruto grinned evilly "Okay I here you like gambling, well it seems I have a knack for it so how about a bet" Tsunade grinned and crossed her arms under her chest pushing her already impressive cleavage up. "Now you're talking my language" she said.

Naruto snorted lightly and looked her up and down "Okay here's the bet, if I master the Rasengan in let's say a week, you have to throw away your stupid childish issues and you will go back to the Leaf village and serve as its Fifth Hokage, but if I lose, I'll admit that you were right"

"Also you have to leave your precious village and serve me as my personal guard forever" Tsunade said smirking "Plus I'll throw in my little necklace if you win" Shizune gasped but Naruto ignored it and nodded.

"Very well, you better get your acceptance speech for the Hokage's office ready, plus I hear the old bats of the council are a real handle" Naruto said before turning and waved "Pervy Sage don't expect me back for a while"

Jiraiya waved and the sighed and turned to Tsunade who was simmering with anger "oh the kids got to you hasn't he" the Toad sage said mockingly as he pointed and laughed at the Tsunade who just glared at Jiraiya in annoyance.

"No he hasn't" Jiraiya laughed even harder and pointed at his childhood friend

"Oh God he so has I can't believe it, your all worked up because of a kid" Jiraiya laughed loudly.

Naruto looked around the field he had chosen as his training field and sighed before he sat down and took a deep breath as he cleared his mind and welcoming the fuzzy feeling he normally felt when he went to visit his brother. When he opened his eyes Naruto was greeted with the sight of the dull sewer and large cage that held the demon lord at bay.

"Hey Kyu"

Kyuubi shifted and brought his head down so that he could look down directly at Naruto easier **"AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE LITTLE ONE, IF I'M CORRECT YOU ONLY HAVE A SEVEN DAY TO COMPLETE YOUR DEAL, THAT ISN'T A LONG TIME YOUNG ONE" ** Kyuubi said in a confident voice making Naruto deflate on the spot.

"Geez aren't you supposed to, I don't know encourage me and tell me things like: You'll have it done in no time, and stuff like that"

Kyuubi blinked twice before he hummed "**SO YOU WATN ME TO LIE?" **

Naruto glared at his demonic big brother as his eye began to twitch "No Kyu I don't want you to lie, I want YOU TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!"

"**I'M SORRY KIT BUT IF YOU WANT FAKE REASSURANCES AND LIES I AM NOT THE OEN TO ASK THEM FROM, I WILL GUIDE YOU AND HELP YOU, I WILL STAND BY YOUR SIDE WHEN THINGS ARE HARD BUT I WILL NEVER LIE TO YOU LITTLE ONE" **The great demon said in a firm voice making Naruto look down in shame, Kyuubi made a loud sighing sound and Naruto felt the comforting aura embrace him once more **"YOUNG KIT, I'M NOT GOING TO LIE TO YOU, I THINK THIS DEAL YOU HAVE MADE WITH LADY TSUNADE IS VERY RISKY AND COULD PROVE TO BE YOUR DEMISE...BUT SAYING THAT I MUST SAY THAT IF ANYONE CAN PULL OF THIS FEAT...IT'S YOU" **Naruto smirked and grinned at his older brother

"Of course I can, it's just sometimes I wonder if the gods chose the right person to put their faith in, I mean when they explained what the Pentingan would be used for I didn't really think that it would be that impressive but when I fought Orochimaru in the Forest Of Death...I saw what it really meant to use the powers of the gods, and it scared me and got me thinking that maybe I'm not worthy for such a power" Naruto said biting his lip as he spilled his insecurities onto his big brother.

"**OH NARUTO, TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THIS, THE GODS WOULDN'T HAVE ENTRUSTED YOU WITH THEIR POWER IS THEY DIDN'T THINK YOU WEREN'T WORTHY" **The demon said hi large red eyes softening **"AND YES IT IS TRUE THAT THEIR POWER IS VERY STRONG COMPARED TO YOUR OWN BUT REMEMBER THE FACT THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO WEILD WITH IT WITHOUT BECOMING DRUNK OFF THE POWER MEANS THAT YOU ARE PURE OF SOUL" **Naruto looked down and smiled warmly before he looked at his hands which were stained red.

"It's funny how in my mind my hands are stained with the blood I've spilled and yet it comes off so easily in the real world don't you think Kyu" The demon made a agreeing humming noise and Naruto took a deep breath and looked into Kyuubi's large red eyes "I have to get to work, I have to prove to grandma Tsunade that being a ninja means more than just dying"

Kyuubi let out a booming laughter making Naruto cover his ears in annoyance **"YOU'VE JUST MET HER AND SHE'S ALREADY BECOMING PRECIOUS TO YOU, YOU ARE QUITE THE AMAZING LITTLE KIT" ** Naruto grinned and shrugged

"What can I say, it's a gift" the blonde said as he faded away. The last thing he heard as he faded out of his mindscape was Kyuubi's booming laughter.

Naruto's eyes snapped open and when he became aware of his surroundings he stretched out and fell backwards onto the soft grass beneath him and just sighed as he stared up at the stars _'I wonder how everyone is doing back home, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, Zabuza...Kiba. I miss them all" _Naruto said when suddenly the imagine of Lee screaming in pain as Gaara's sand crushed his arm and leg flashed into his mind "no, I promised Bushier brows sensei" he said as he flipped himself up onto his feet and stared at each tree in the field "Well I better get to work, they don't call me the number one unpredictable ninja for nothing"

Zabuza sighed as he watched Sasuke fall down in pain once again and rested his head in the palm of his hand "Get up, I told you I wasn't going to coddle you like Kakashi" Sasuke groaned and pulled himself to his feet and just glared at Zabuza tiredly.

Earlier that day the Uchiha heir had approached the ex-mist nin and had asked him to train him for the day and after a three hour training session Sasuke was beginning to feel like he had been thrown through the meat grinder and then jumped on a few times and through all that he had yet to actually do more than graze the assassination specialist.

"This is stupid and impossible, I can't hit Kakashi so there is no way I'm gonna hit you" Sasuke complained as he ran his hand through his hair frustrated.

"Geez how does Kakashi deal with you, I mean all you do is whine, I can't believe he blew Naruto off for the month training for the chunnin exams, you're really annoying" The mist ninja said jumping off the tree he had been leaning on and then began walking away "find someone else to teach you, I don't deal with whiners" he said before walking off.

Zabuza sighed and then noticed Kiba walking with his head down, through the village at a hurried pace so with an interested glance around him he began to follow the Inuzuka. It was a well kept secret between Tsume and himself that the young Inuzuka had a crush on Naruto so in light of finding out this secret Zabuza had made it his business to find out everything about the young man. But when he noticed Kiba had stopped in front of the Temple he couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed the boy's undecided posture.

"Oi kid, what you waiting for" Kiba froze and then turned around and saw Zabuza leaning against a nearby tree staring at him. The dog Nin was used to seeing the ex-mist Nin as he had become a frequent house guess as his mother had yet to beat him at a drinking contest.

"Ah nothing I just was going to you know go in and pray" he said in wavering voice as Zabuza gave him a I-know-your-lying glance but then nodded and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Good I'll go with you" Kiba gulped and nodded before he slowly walked up the steps into the temple "You know it's not seen as uncool to pray at the temple in the ninja community in fact it's seen as honourable" Zabuza said when he saw Kiba unsure expression as he sat before the large looming statue of Inferno.

"it's not that I'm scared of what it'll look like" Kiba said in a small voice as he looked up at the statue and then looked back down "It's just, the Inuzuka clan has been praying to Inferno for as long as they existed, he's supposed to be some great deity to us, a symbol of honour and yet I only found this out this year, so praying here to Inferno makes me feel like a fraud" the young Inuzuka said making Zabuza nod.

"Thought so" Kiba gave Zabuza a confused glance and the swordsmen sighed before explaining "When your mother and I talked, one time she revealed to me, that it was the fathers job to explain everything about the myths and legends of the clan to his son as it is with the mother to the daughter, but unfortunately for you your father died on a mission when you were still too young to be told all of this so when the time came to tell you about you clan's legends and gods you had no one as your mother was afraid to overstep her boundaries, but the fact is, you're not a fraud your just...a little late to the show" Zabuza said looking at the boy as he frowned a little.

"Really" Kiba whispered and then grabbed his forehead in pain and when he looked up he saw Zabuza smirking at him "Did you just jab me in the forehead?"

"You and Naruto annoy me a little you know that" Kiba's eyes widened in shock as Zabuza smiled down at him before the ex-mist ninja ruffled his hair "but you're alright kid"

Kiba laughed and then turned to pray at the statues feet and couldn't help the thought that passed his mind _'is this what it's like having a father'_

A large explosion filled the empty clearing and in a large explosion of dust Naruto was sent flying from the rock he had been trying his Rasengan on. Five days had passed since he had made his deal with Tsunade and for five straight days he had been trying to perfect his Rasengan, but much to the blonde's dismay the Jut-su wasn't going to plan, but it was slowly coming along.

"It lasted longer this time" Naruto grunted as he pulled himself out of the ditch he had created."I'm gonna make it" he said panting.

But suddenly he felt a chilling sensation fill the air and when he looked around he swore he saw Orochimaru starring at him but once he blinked the snake man was gone and he was alone once again in the clearing.

"My instincts are never wrong" Naruto muttered so with a tired sigh he leapt out of his personal training field and leapt towards the hotel where he knew Jiraiya would be staying at.

In the room Tsunade glared at Jiraiya over five cards and then looked down at her dud hand when she saw Jiraiya's blank face.

"So what's the deal with the Uzumaki brat, he seems a little talented to be a genin" she said in an effort to distract the toad sage into to doing something to tip her off to his game.

"Because he's not just some genin" Jiraiya said as he looked up from his straight flush. "He's Kitsune the ANBU" Jiraiya said as he threw some chips into the pot.

"You're kidding me, that kid is the great Kitsune" Tsunade said laughing hard "That's a good one"

"Yeah I thought that too when I was told that when I was six" Tsunade froze and looked over at the window seal and glared when she saw Naruto leaning against the outside doorframe casually "But it seems that I'm still waiting for the end of my joke to happen"

"What do you mean" she asked in a curious voice.

Naruto gave the older woman a blank stare and then sighed "I was six years old and I killed three missing ninja out of instinct, in an effort to control me and my power the council elders had me but in ANBU under the guise of Kitsune, I lived like that for three years under the guardianship of Itachi Uchiha, but when he committed the massacre and left me alone again the Third saw it fit to put me into the academy at the ripe age of nine, I passed the graduation exam and was allowed out of ANBU for the time being as I was put under Kakashi's tutelage, but as I soon found out I may be able to get away from ANBU but it doesn't mean I'll ever truly be free from it" Tsunade stared at Naruto in shock and the boy sighed before he turned to Jiraiya "Look I don't want to alarm you but I think Orochimaru may be near"

Tsunade froze and she stood up and glanced at Naruto nervously "You saw him?"

The blonde genin shoved his hands into his pockets "yeah at least I think so, my instincts say I do, and trust me my instincts are never wrong" Jiraiya nodded and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder in passing.

"You training well?" he asked in a off handed voice, Naruto nodded and the toad sage sighed before he grabbed Tsunade and forced her out the door "You keep at it, you'll get it" Naruto nodded and then leapt back towards the training area and sighed before he began to force his chakra into the form of a sphere.

"I will win!" he shouted as he slammed his jut-su into a nearby tree.

Tsunade starred down into the tea in front of her and then looked over at Jiraiya who was doing the same thing. Ever since she had pushed Naruto into telling her about his past the two of them hadn't spoken a word to each other but for some weird reason the slug sannin felt almost as if the Toad sage was disappointed in her.

"So tell me, what did he offer you in a deal" Tsunade froze in shock and she starred over at Jiraiya who had a sad grin on his face "What you really thought I wouldn't figure it out, Sensei sealed his arms didn't he, and in response he wanted you to heal them but he would have known you wouldn't have done it for free...so I'm gonna ask again: what did he offer you in return" Jiraiya said in a firm tone.

Tsunade looked back down at her drink sadly and sighed "He offered to bring Nowaki and Dan back to life for me" Jiraiya swore a little and put his hand on his forehead

"And seeing Naruto and hearing him yell at you like that would have been an extremely hard thing for you to do, he would have brought up bad memories didn't he" the Toad sage said sadly.

Tsunade nodded and then sighed "Hearing him speak to me like that reminded me of when Dan used to berate me and tell me I wasn't a kid, and when I looked into his eyes I saw the same passion that used to light up in my little brothers eyes when he spoke of his dream, and even though the dream isn't the same, Naruto wants to protect the leaf village just like them and hearing him declare it so easily made me almost break down"

"So why offer him the necklace" Tsunade smirked and shook her head

"Please he has two days left, he won't make it" Jiraiya sighed and stood up

"You'd be surprised in what that kid can do Tsunade, he and his demon aren't in a fight over control he and his demon are a team and that only makes him stronger and more dangerous, and trust me many of his opponents have underestimated him and have ended up face first in the ground" Tsunade stared at her teammate in shock

"Jiraiya I haven't heard you speak like this since..."

"Who Minato, that's because only Naruto could find that spark that Minato had, only Naruto could make me feel irritated, overjoyed, annoyed and proud all at the one time, I will tell you this Tsunade that kid: Naruto...he will be my last student, I ever teach" the toad sage said before throwing a few bills on the counter and walked away towards the training ground where Naruto was at hard work.

Kakashi looked up at the moon and then looked down at his book and put it away; he wasn't getting any reading done anyway. Ever since Itachi had graced the leaf village once again he had been distracted and most of all worried about Naruto. The little blonde had been so shaken and scared when his old guardian had come back suddenly; that the silver haired scarecrow had thought that the blonde would have gone with them because it was Itachi had asked him to. Kakashi wasn't going to lie, even back in his ANBU days he had been slightly jealous of the bond that Itachi and Naruto had formed so quickly, it had angered him how quickly the blonde had accepted the Uchiha when it had taken weeks to worm his way into the Naruto's trust why it had taken the Uchiha mere moments to achieve what he hadn't been able to do for weeks. But for Naruto's sake he had backed off and allowed Naruto to lean completely on the younger officer and then when he had betrayed the village Kakashi had turned his back on the young boy in an effort to make the boy grow up and stop trusting people as easily as he had been doing, but because of his cold shoulder Kitsune had turned away from Ookami and had found a warm embrace in Rat who had taken in the boy and had tended to him and had become to boy's career and new guardian. Kakashi sighed tiredly and rubbed the back of his neck in an effort to release some of the tension lying in the muscles, he should have known that Itachi wouldn't forget the young blonde, he was the only operative in ANBU who had been able to stare into the depths of the Sharingan and not be hypnotised by the pure power and strength that lied in the crimson depths of the red copying eye. So that it would have impressed the Uchiha to the point of awe, and then there was the small detail of who had caught the traitor as he was fleeing the scene of the crime. When he and his squad had found Naruto all they saw was a destroyed forest and Naruto who was beaten to the point of death. To have survived such a beating and to have only gotten stronger because of it, Naruto would have been made a target almost immediately in Itachi's eyes.

"Doesn't help he has a sort of sick fascination with him" the scarecrow mumbled as he gazed up at the dark sky "I wonder how Naruto's doing, he was a little tense when he left and I know that when Naruto's tense something bad seems to follow him" Kakashi said sighed as he scratched his head in an attempt to calm his nerves.

"A Little tense eh Kakashi?" The silver haired ninja turned and smiled up at his fellow masked ninja and motioned for Zabuza to sit next to him on the roof.

"How are you Zabuza I haven't seen you since the Funeral, when you left with Tsume, Kiba and Naruto" Kakashi said smiling up at the Jonin who had wormed his way into Naruto's heart in mere moments, even though he had injured him and caused him to go through a painful evolution to gain a newer and better eye.

"I've been good, I've been helping Kiba get more in touch with his heritage, and my students have been pushing it a bit too far in the ignorance department" The swordsmen growled making Kakashi laugh a little.

"We are the leaf village our specialty is escorts and body guard duty your old village was the head of assassination not ours" Zabuza sniffed the air uninterestedly and then glared at the moon before sighing tiredly. "Tired?"

Zabuza nodded and then chuckled a little "With all the arguing we do you wouldn't think it but I really miss the little brat, I mean it feels as if the village is missing something without him here" Kakashi nodded and then leant back against the roof.

"Yeah I know what you mean I haven't even had them as students for a whole year and yet...I still can't help but miss him, I mean Sasuke is a great student" Zabuza snorted and Kakashi gave him a confused look before continuing on "And Sakura is a great ear to talk to but Naruto...he has a calming presence and without him here the village just seems empty" Zabuza nodded in agreement and the two Jonin feel silent and allowed the calm that surrounded them to engulf the silence that had loomed over them.

"Naruto"

Said blonde looked up and gave him a searching glance and then looked up at the rising sun and sighed as he looked around the training area and the sighed. Today was the last day of the bet, one week earlier he had made a bet with the Slug Princess Tsunade that he could master the Rasengan in one week and now his week was up.

"You gonna be okay" Jiraiya asked his student as they slowly walked back to the town where Tsunade had been staying for the time that they had been waiting out the time on the bet "I mean you haven't"

Naruto held up a hand to stop his teacher and then grinned "I'm gonna wing it"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto in shock for a moment before his patience broke "ARE YOU CRAZY! YOU'RE GONNA **WING IT**, YOUR INSANE THIS IS YOUR WHOLE LIFE WERE TALKING ABOUT!"

Naruto unplugged his fingers from his ears and then stared at Jiraiya with a bright grin "I know that, but what other choice do I have" Jiraiya saw the fleeting look of sadness that crossed his face and fell silent "But what am I gonna do, I can't lie and tell her that I finished it, and I can't just tell her I haven't I want to show her how far I have gotten, I have to trust my instincts like I always have a rely on what skills I have not on what skills I lack"

Jiraiya put his hands on Naruto's shoulders and shook his head "Your instincts aren't gonna get you out of trouble everytime you need them too"

Naruto looked back up and smiled brightly before shaking his head "Maybe...but until then, I think I'll stick with what I know works"

Jiraiya laughed as Naruto dug through his vest and pulled out his small pipe and begun playing a cheery tune totally unaware of the two following eyes that was concealed in the shadows. '_This complicates things'_.

Shizune bit her nails in fright as she stared at the empty bed beside her and then froze when she heard the cheery tune flowing down the street. In mere seconds she rushed down the stairs and rushed straight into Naruto who she bundled into a tight hug. "Naruto she's gone" Jiraiya froze and swore darkly. Naruto glared at an invisible enemy and then pulled Shizune off him and looked into her eyes.

"You either can tell me what happened before Pervy Sage and I came along or I can find out forcibly" The genin said his Pentingan eye spinning widely.

Shizune gulped and then nodded "A week ago, Tsunade was approached by Orochimaru who asked her to heal his arms that had been rendered useless in his fight against the Third Hokage" Naruto looked down and growled a little "But when Tsunade at first refused he said that he would bring back her little brother Nowaki and my uncle Dan back to life if she did for him" Naruto's eyes widened and he felt all the anger leave his body.

"We have to stop her" he whispered and then he turned to the tiny pig and looked it in the eyes "Ton-Ton can you find her" The tiny pig nodded determined and Naruto quickly summoned Gamakichi who immediately jumped onto his blonde mop of hair. "You ready buddy"

"You know it kid" The Toad said saluting Shizune and Jiraiya who just nodded and then leapt off as the tiny pig picked up the female Sanin's scent and ran towards its location. _'don't worry Grandma I'm coming, and then you'll have to admit I was right' _ Naruto thought as a feral grin found its way onto his face and his pupils thinned out to slits.

Tsunade punched Kabuto in the face sending him half way across the field and then turned to Orochimaru who was watching all the proceedings with a smug grin plastered onto his face. Watching his most loyal subjects and his old teammate who were both masters when it came to the healing arts fight was very entertaining to the snake sannin who liked nothing more than a large display of power, and when it came to Tsunade: she never did anything by halves.  
"What you to good to get your hands dirty?" she said putting her hands on her hips. Orochimaru shook his head and smiled smugly "No I just don't feel the need to fight myself when Kabuto is more than capable to deal with you at the moment" Tsunade smirked and then caught the chakra scalpel that had been heading her way and then threw Kabuto until he landed at his master's feet.

"Oh you mean this dog...well at least he's where he belongs, at his master's feet" Tsunade said crossing her arms and then stomped her foot twice causing the ground under Kabuto to cave in and if it wasn't for the ninja's quick reflexes the medic nin would have fallen to a very rocky death.

"I wouldn't underestimate me" Kabuto said as he pulled himself to his feet and then unsheathed a Kunai and brought it up to his hand and made a deep cut "I might just surprise you" he said flinging the blood into the woman's eyes. The second the blood hit Tsunade's body she froze as bad memories sprung to the forefront of her mind, Blood covering Nowaki and her blood stained hands as she tried to save Dan. Kabuto sneered as he watched as the great Tsunade the Slug princess turned into a shivering mess at the sight of his blood. "And you call me pathetic" he said as he kicked the blonde woman across the field. But just as he was about to leap forward and attack again he felt a bright pain flare through his body and when he went flying he managed to see Naruto with a bloody hooked kunai standing in front of Tsunade with hell's fury in his eyes. "Naruto" Kabuto said coldly as the genin stood up straight and fixed him with a glare that would make Kyuubi shiver.

"Kabuto"

Orochimaru smirked as he looked at the child who had been able to put him on the verge of death, he hadn't seen the blonde since the finals of the chunnin exam where he had beaten the Hyuga prodigy in a way which almost made him forget the Uchiha heir he had been so focused on getting for the last few years. "Ah Naruto it's good to see you, and you look so well" the snake sannin said and Naruto fixed his glare on the raven haired ninja "aw why so mean, you and I have a bond"

Jiraiya jumped down next to his student and put Gamakichi down next to him and then stared at Tsunade and swore lightly when he saw the blood covering her still shaking form. "Naruto I need you to take care of Tsunade"

Shizune looked over at Kabuto and then at Naruto who seemed to be growling like a wild animal and then cleared her throat catching the Toad Sannin's attention "master Jiraiya, I don't think I should take Naruto's place, I believe the only one capable of taking care of that Medic ninja is him" Jiraiya looked over at his student and saw the fury covering his frame and the nodded in agreement.

Kabuto sneered when he realized that Naruto was going to be his opponent and then clapped as he healed his wounds "So I get to fight the Leaf village's perfect weapon" Naruto stilled and then glared at Kabuto even fiercer making the medic chuckle slightly at the pure hatred that filled the boys eyes at that moment "Oh please you know that is what you are, you were born to be a weapon and the council knew that, why do you think that the Third didn't fight against the decision to hard to throw you in ANBU : he knew there was gonna come a time when you would be needed to fight and protect the village even at the cost of your own life" Naruto nodded and then rushed forward in speeds that shocked even Orochimaru and slammed his fist into Kabuto's chin sending him flying upwards.

"Naruto has a short fuse, and if I'm not correct your dog just reached the end of it" Jiraiya said before he ran forward and engaged his own rival in battle why Shizune looked on in fear.

Kabuto grit his teeth as Naruto's kick landed breaking two of his ribs and sending him flying towards the ground. _'This kid, I'm gonna have to step up my game' _Naruto landed silently across from the ditch and waited for Kabuto to jump out and hit him. When the medic did just that and tried to get him with a glowing hand Naruto was so shocked that the chakra blade managed to hit one of his blood veins making him cough up an alarming amount of blood.

"Damn I only hit one of your minor veins" Kabuto said pouting. Naruto glared and then kicked the man so hard that he seemed stuck to his foot at one point only to be sent flying into a nearby boulder.

As Kyuubi healed his wounds Naruto quickly ran through a set of hand signs "Water Wolf Jut-su: Tidus" he said slamming his hand on the floor and then all the water in the nearby stream and in the air formed the large wolf with water eyes who just turned and nuzzled Naruto affectionately. Naruto patted it once before running through another set of hand signs and then took a deep steadying breath "Oh please let this work: Water wolf Fusion Armour" Jiraiya looked down in shock and then bit his lip in worry, Naruto had only managed to master one of the armours and the fact that the kid had decided to use an unmastered jut-su in the middle of the battle just proved how far back the kid had been pushed.

"Nervous Jiraiya, is Naruto really that much of a cause for concern?" Orochimaru said and Jiraiya shook his head and smirked as the armour hardened itself and became whole.

"Nah I was just thinking about how badly you were gonna have to scrape you little medic off the floor once Naruto's done with him"

Naruto took a deep breath as he felt the water enter his body and seemed to work its way into his bloodstream turning him into half water. When he looked down at himself he smirked when he saw that the armour had worked. Unlike with the fire armour this armour's face mask attached itself to his ears and made them into metal wolf ears. On his wrists were blades that looked like they could slice through water as fast as a bullet. When he looked at his back he smirked when he saw two ribbons falling from his shoulders where they laid against the back of his knees. Around his waist was a large whip with a curved and pointed tip and on his wrist was a launcher of some kind and when he looked at his hip he saw what looked like darts locked into place.

"What is this" Kabuto demanded as he looked over Naruto's new appearance "What did you do" Naruto held up his blue armoured gloved hand and then smirked although you couldn't see it from behind his mask.

"I upgraded" he said, his voice sounding like he was underwater and then after spinning around he seemed to turn himself into water and then dispersed into the air scarring Kabuto who started to turn around in a circle as he tried to find the missing blonde ninja. But as he turned around suddenly he felt a painful slash and when he looked down at his thigh he was shocked when he saw the large gash appear out of thin air. But when he looked up he saw Naruto sitting on a nearby rock looking down at him with smug eyes as his right wrist blade was dripping with blood. "Let me explain, this armour holds the abilities of Tidus the Wolf of water, when I fuse with my Jut-su created wolf, I create an armour that gives me certain gifts, one of this armours is that every few moments I'm able to make my body turn into its barest form and let my water that fills my body take over my main appearance: in short I can turn myself into the water molecules in the air"

Kabuto glared and jumped up to strike Naruto who parried his strike with his wrist blade. But suddenly Kabuto grinned and slide his other chakra scalpel in and made a shallow gash on Naruto's shoulder making him wince before he grabbed both the medic's wrists. "What you didn't think I had other gifts did you" Naruto said before he jumped up dragging Kabuto with him. Then taking in a deep breath Naruto allowed the water power from within drawn outwards and Kabuto almost screamed when he saw water appear behind Naruto and then grab him and force its way down his throat. Naruto dropped the medic nin and then stood on the water above ground much like Gaara did with his sand and then clapped his hands together "Inner Tsunami typhoon Jut-su" Naruto called out and Kabuto felt as if something was tearing up his insides and before he hit the ground he coughed up a large amount of blood that put Naruto's amount to shame. Taking a deep breath Naruto allowed the water to float down to the ground where he rushed over to Tsunade who was staring at him in awe.

"Naruto" she whispered. Naruto grinned back even though she couldn't see it behind the mask and gave her a thumb up. But when she looked a little behind her she was terrified when she saw Orochimaru flying towards him with his singing grass sword drawn, "NARUTO BEHIND YOU"

Naruto whipped around just in time to have the sword impale him just to the left of his heart making him look up in shock as Orochimaru starred at him with annoyance "I missed" the snake sannin said in annoyance. Naruto grabbed the blade and ripped it from his armour and tore his face mask off and let the blood that had been gathering there to drip from between his teeth as he gave Orochimaru a bloody grin.

"What can I say I'm full of miracles" Orochimaru sneered and kneed the boy in the stomach cracking more of his armour and forcing more blood to be heaved from his wound. But when he went to do so again Jiraiya came out of nowhere and kicked his old teammate full in the face sending him flying.

"You Okay Naruto?" the Toad sage asked not looked back at his student. Once Naruto gave him the okay he jumped off and Tsunade watched as Naruto wiped the blood from his mouth and smiled at her.

"Don't worry Grandma until you're ready I'll protect you" Tsunade smiled back in a wavering smile and was then shocked when she saw the dark look his eyes took on when he felt Kabuto pick himself up.

"Aw how sweet, aren't you just adorable, being her white knight and all that, the only problem is, weapons aren't supposed to be knights, there used by the hero" Kabuto sneered and Naruto nodded and spat a small glob of blood on the ground and held a hand to the gaping wound in his chest and grimaced.

"Maybe but at least I have a use till my death, what about you, what do you think Orochimaru is going to do with you once you've outlived your purpose: keep you around to make him tea? Please you and I both know he's gonna kill you" Kabuto grabbed out a kunai and raced towards him in blind fury.

"I will never outlive my purpose" he screamed.

Naruto watched Kabuto closely and waited for his instincts to guide him _Catch his kunai with your hand_ Naruto didn't question the thought and just held out his hand and allowed the blade to go straight through his hand making Tsunade stare ins shock at the lengths Naruto was willing to go through to protect her. Grabbing the blade with his hand Naruto summoned one clone with his other and then held his hand out and gave Tsunade a backwards cocky grin. "You got that necklace ready for me Grandma" Tsunade's eyes widened in shock and Kabuto tried to wrestle his blade out of Naruto's grip only to be held down when Naruto's fingers clamped around his own. "You remember when you called me a weapon" Naruto gritted out as he and his clone started to form the Rasengan in his left hand. "It's true I won't deny it" Kabuto forgot about the forming spinning ball of chakra and gave Naruto a superior smirk which disappeared when he saw the grin on Naruto's face "Only problem is I'm a damn good one" Tsunade stared in awe as Naruto slammed a fully created and perfected Rasengan into Kabuto's chest sending him twirling and flying into a nearby rock where he fell down and struggled to move.

Tsunade stood up and stared at all the blood around her and saw how Naruto just gazed at his hand once and then dropped it and let the blood drip before she walked over to him and put the necklace over his head and smiled down at him. "One last time eh" Naruto stared at her in confusion and then stared over to where Orochimaru had landed with Kabuto and glared over at the snake Sannin who just grinned at him.

"Well Naruto it seems you've won this round, but just wait you won't get away as easily next time, the leaf village will fall" Tsunade punched the ground and then glared at Orochimaru with fury in her eyes making the snake sannin take a step back in fear "Your blood fear?"

"Gone Thank Naruto for that. Orochimaru I will tell you this one time and one time only, you won't lay your hands on the Leaf village ever because I'll be serving it as the Fifth Hokage" Jiraiya came to stand next to Naruto who smiled at Tsunade and then at the same time both of them crossed their arms making Shizune giggle a little.

Orochimaru glared at the two of them and then disappeared with Kabuto. When the two of them were gone Naruto took a deep breath and let his armour fall to the floor leaving him with torn clothes drenched in blood.

"Oi kid, you aright" Jiraiya asked ruffling the blonde's hair as Gamakichi tugged on his pant leg.

"Yeah you alright buddy?" Naruto nodded and then held up his hand that was already half way to healing.

"You remember the demon lord I house right, well it has its perks" Jiraiya bellowed in laughter and pulled the boy in for a bear hug and Gamakichi jumped on his best friends head as Tsunade stared on affectionately. _'You may be a weapon in the eyes of the village, but to me Naruto...you're just like them" _


	16. Forgotten Memories

**Chapter 15: Forgotten Memories**

When Naruto, Jiraiya, Shizune and Tsunade arrived back into the leaf village a whole month had passed since the blonde had first set out and when he was spotted in the streets with two of the sannin-both of which had swore never to set foot back in the village-many of the Jonin and Chunnin just stared at the young Genin in shock. It also didn't help that word of his win against both Neji and Gaara had gotten around since he was gone and now he was getting many looks from other clans.

"Naruto?" When the Fox ninja looked up he was relieved to see Shikamaru standing in front of him with his hands in his pockets looking bored but intrigued at the same time. "Where you been lately?"

Naruto looked over at Jiraiya who shook his head and Naruto sighed and scratched his head and smiled at his friend "Training mission that's all" Shikamaru looked at Naruto and then nodded before he walked off before he turned back

"Oh yeah Zabuza is looking for you I'd expect him here in a few seconds" Naruto took a deep breath and then motioned for the Sannin to give him some room.

"YOU DAMN BRAT!" Naruto grinned when Zabuza appeared in front of him fury bright in his eyes.

Jiraiya sighed and Tsunade and Shizune looked taken aback why Shikamaru just yawned "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU YELLING ABOUT I JUST GOT BACK!" Naruto yelled back just as loud.

"What's going on" Tsunade asked in a confused voice

"THAT IS THE EXACT REASON I"M YELLING!" Zabuza yelled back getting face to face with the younger teen.

Jiraiya took a deep breath and pointed to Zabuza "Zabuza has a complicated bond with Naruto and doesn't know how to express it and in turn he and the kid argue...a lot and very loudly" Jiraiya said rubbing his temples.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Naruto screamed back

Shizune looked around and saw many of the nearby Ninja had stopped what they were doing and had come to watch the confrontation "YOU LEFT. WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD IN A DITCH SOMEWHERE!" Naruto grinned and slapped Zabuza on the face good natured

"Aw you care thanks" he said before punching the Mist Nin in the nose "BUT THAT STILL DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO SCREAM AT ME THE MOMENT I GET BACK!"

"YOU BASTARD YOU BROKE MY NOSE!" Zabuza screamed back as he held his nose in pain.

"NARUTO MY YOUTHFUL RIVAL YOU HAVE RETURNED!" Naruto stilled and then he disappeared in seconds and almost as soon as Naruto was gone Gai who had Rock Lee on his back appeared "DON"T RUN Naruto WE HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS, AFTER HIM Gai-SENSEI!" Lee hollered after the blonde who had disappeared from sight.

"It's good to see nothing has changed" Jiraiya said sighing happily "Shall we" Tsunade just looked around and then nodded and followed her childhood friend towards the Hokage's office.

"Why do I have a feeling this'll be a big pain" Tsunade muttered as they climbed the steps to her new home. Jiraiya slapped her on the back and smiled.

"Why do you think I declined" Tsunade felt her eyebrow tick and she stared at Jiraiya with a death glare before she stomped towards the entrance and forced the doors open and glared at the council elders who glared right back.

"Tsunade it seems you have come back, I'm guessing it's to accept our offer?" The male council elder said as he scanned over Tsunade who then turned back and glared at Jiraiya.

"You so owe me"

Naruto walked into the temple and took in a deep breath as he breathed in the familiar scent of candles and herbs. To the demonic jailor there was nothing more soothing to the soul apart from entering the temple after a long mission away.

"Ah do my eyes deceive me or is that Naruto standing in our doorway" Naruto smiled and hugged Anton tightly "It's been a while"

"Yeah I went a really long training mission out of the village so I was unable to pray" Naruto said in a sad voice. "But I'm ready to send if you'll let me" Anton nodded and let Naruto pass and looked into the eyes of a hooded boy who sat at the feet of the Inferno Statue.

Naruto took a deep breath and begun dancing as he felt the tingling sensation of his chakra leaving him for the alter in which his offering would be given to the fourth Hokage. It was at times like now that Naruto wanted to stop being a ninja, when he performed a sending he felt as if he was doing something more productive then just killing and taking a life. As Naruto begun his dance for the gods, he locked eyes with Kiba who had his hood drawn up and was kneeling at the base of Inferno's feet just staring at him. The fox boy would be lying if he said he hadn't missed the Inuzuka in fact he would have to say he really missed the young male. As the gods withdrew their presences and there orbs lit up with agreement Naruto tried to walk towards the dog boy only to start to fall forward and get caught in his arms.

"Still makes you tired huh?" Naruto smiled happily at the dog boy who then pulled down his hood and gave Naruto a wolfish grin of his own. "When will you ever learn" He asked as he put Naruto on his own two feet.

"Please being reckless is part of my charm" Naruto said making Kiba laugh and shake his head "What it's true at least that's what Pervy Sage says"

Kiba stared at Naruto for a moment and then fought down a blush and turned away while clearing his throat "It's ah good to see you again, I thought you weren't coming back you were gone for so long" Naruto shook his head and leant back and shook his head.

"I couldn't leave this place...the people I love are here" Kiba looked down and blushed again as the full impact of Naruto's words hit him and he coughed nervously.

"Yeah well still you were gone for a really long time; I almost forgot what you looked like" Naruto laughed and then slung his arm around Kiba's shoulders and pulled his friend close.

"Then I'm gonna have to spend a little more time with you aren't I, get you used to me again" Naruto said smiling at the canine ninja and then laughed loudly making the other prayers in the temple stare at him in confusion.

Sakura glared at the blonde in front of her for a short moment before her face split into a large grin and she launched herself at him "Naruto!" she yelled as she glomped him and the blonde spun her around laughing loudly with her why Sasuke stood back and just watched as his girlfriend and his best friend got reacquainted. "Your Back, I've missed you so much"

Naruto hugged the pink haired girl tightly and then pulled away from her and smiled "Me too, you have no idea how boring it is with just Pervy Sage as company, I've really missed you" he said flipping back landing on one of the training logs and began playing his song merrily making Sakura laugh and begin to clap as she was once again uplifted by Naruto's music. Sasuke bit his lip and looked down ashamed as he watched how much Sakura's eyes sparkled when she listened to Naruto's music. Not once in the whole month they had been dating had he ever been able to get her eyes to sparkle and shine like they were at that moment, the closest he had come to such a spark had been when he had slept with her.

"Sasuke?" the raven haired ninja looked up and saw Sakura's concerned eyes looking at him. So to placate her, Sasuke smiled making Sakura grin back. When the pinkette turned back and smiled at Naruto who just changed his song and begun playing a more complicated tune.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and couldn't help the suspicious glint that entered them as he remembered the words his brother had spoken that day. _"You always were jealous of him taking up my time when we were kids" _Sasuke looked at Naruto for a moment before he bit his lip _'what did he mean by that, I'd never met Naruto before he entered the academy late even, and I was never jealous as I kid, I had no one to be jealous of' _

"Sasuke, come on" Sasuke looked up and saw Naruto waving him over and then nodded before he jogged over. Naruto smiled widely at him and then begun playing the same haunting tune he had played the day of the bell test and Sasuke couldn't help but realize how far he had come from that one test and how long it had really been. Sakura laughed and then leant back against Sasuke and kissed his neck making a faint blush creep up on his neck and spread across his neck. Naruto smiled at his two friends and then continued to play his tunes making the couple laugh and grin, or in Sasuke's case smirk and tighten his grip on Sakura's waist.

"**THE RAVEN DOESN'T SEEM TO CARE FOR HER LIKE GAARA DID" **Naruto was so shocked at his older brother's statement that he almost stopped playing but just not to arouse suspicion he continued to play.

"_Kyu what do you mean?" _Naruto asked his older brother as he focused on his music, unable to stare at Sasuke while he was discussing him with his demonic jailor.

Kyuubi sent him an unsure rumble and then heaved a tired sigh **"I CAN'T BE SURE LITTLE ONE, BUT..."**

"_But what Kyu?"_

"**I CAN'T HELP BUT NOTICE THAT WHEN YOUR YOUNG FREIND GAARA LOOKED AT SAKURA HE SEEMED TO BE LOOKING AT THE ONE THING THAT MADE HIM HAPPY" **The demon said in a slow voice

"_Yeah so? Not getting your point"_

Kyuubi growled ad sent out a wave of annoyance to his little brother **"LOOK AT THEM KIT, DOES IT REALLY LOOK LIKE SASUKE IS STARRING AT HER WITH THE SAME UTTER DEVOTION THAT GAARA HAD, TELL ME WHAT DOES Sasuke LOOK LIKE?" **

Naruto looked up and sneaked a peak between his lashes at the couple and couldn't help it when his song suddenly turn sad and slow, _"He looks at her like a possession, you're right Kyu, Gaara loved her, Sasuke...doesn't" _Naruto said back to the large demon who hummed in agreement.

"**AS I WAS SAYING LITTLE ONE" ** Naruto sighed and allowed his music to start to pick up as he noticed how depressed and sad Sakura was becoming as she listened to the haunting melody **"BUT IT ISN'T A CAUSE FOR ALARM LITTLE ONE, I'M SURE SAUSKE WILL LEARN TO LOVE HER, BUT JUST..."**

"_Not in the way Gaara does, I get it" _Naruto said

Naruto suddenly stopped and gave Sakura and happy grin "So Sakura have the sand trio sent any letters or messages while I've been away" Sasuke stiffened but the girl in his arm didn't seem to notice as she grinned and nodded throwing the blonde a thick envelope filled with several pages. "Awesome"

"It reads:

Dear Naruto Uzumaki, 

I haven't had much practise writing letters before, but I believe that writing to you I will gain some experience. My Sister Temari says that it's normal to state the reason for writing a letter, but what if I have no reason, what if I just wish to write to you and merely have you reply. The truth is I'm finding it difficult to cope. Kankuro says that it's because you made such a big change in just one moment, but I don't feel that it's the case. My village seems to have accepted the new me after a few weeks of watching me, but at the same time I can't help but feel secluded and all alone in my own village, tell me: do you ever feel like that?

Naruto, I can't help but ask, how is your village dealing with the loss of you great Hokage, if my information is correct you have gone a mission to retrieve the new one, what are they like. My siblings and I can't help but feel responsible for your village's loss and want to do anything to help, even if that means forging our own bonds with your village we will. Temari tells me that she misses Sakura and her wit, and my brother wants to see you once again and show you his puppets as he remembers you joy and curiosity at the preliminaries when he used The Crow. As for myself I miss your comforting aura, even in the short while I knew you I couldn't help but notice the way you can calm down even a darkness born from thirteen years of rejection. 

Just so you and your village are aware, our own village has suffered the loss of my father the third Kazekage. I can't say I'm sorry: does that make me a bad person, tell me Naruto, I don't understand if I should grieve over the man who brought me so much pain. Kankuro and Temari tell me to stop worrying but I can't help but be scared that I'll forget all you taught me and fall back into old patterns, and that scares me more than the thought of any battle I may encounter. Our village should start discussing a new treaty with your own, once your Hokage is decided. 

I truly believe my village has accepted me for the first time in my life, instead of merely promoting me to Chunnin because of the power I possess, the council has decided against promoting me and instead only promoted only my Sister who hates the fact that she can't go on missions with Kankuro and even me anymore. Apparently she wants to become a strategist so she can meet your shadow using friend again-not that she'd tell anyone of course. Tell me who got promoted to Chunnin from the leaf village, I find it hard to believe that out of all the leaf village finalist that actually got to show off their skills that none of you got promoted. 

I'm not expecting you to write back if you don't want to, I can understand if you don't feel the need too, considering I was the one who almost destroyed your village I can understand if you would find any type of contact with me irritating and almost insulting, but I couldn't help but try: simply because I find you as the one thing I've always wanted: My friend. 

Yours

Gaara Sabuku

Naruto looked at the letter fondly and stroked it once before he stood up and cracked his muscles before he stared over at Sakura who gave Naruto a strange look.

"So what's the deal, the letter was all strange and cryptic how did you get any message out of that at all" she said pouting "The one I got from Temari was much better"

Naruto smiled and shook his head "Nah I understood, Gaara just takes a little patience and you can read him like a book: he and I are a lot alike" Naruto said before his mega watt grin spread across his face "I'm gonna go write one back"

Sakura stared after Naruto for a moment before she looked back at Sasuke and smiled once in his direction and stood up and smiled sadly "I'm really sorry Sasuke, but my parents get back tonight and they'll want to see me"

Sasuke looked down and grit his teeth and nodded, _'why does everyone want to steal my girlfriend'_

Naruto took in a deep breath and stared at the blank paper in front of him before he picked up a pen he had swiped in his earlier pranking days and took a deep breath before he let his words flow down the page.

Dear Gaara

I'm sorry if my reply is a little late, I only got in to the village this very day, as you mentioned in your previous letter I was searching for the new Hokage, and brought her back to the village. As for what she's like...she's very caring and I believe the Leaf Village will grow under her guidance. As for you question about me feeling secluded in my own village, my answer is yes. I feel so very alone at some times that I want to go and hideaway in the Forest of Death. But I don't: I watch the families and I work through my pain and I think about how I want to help each and every one of those people who are so much better off then myself. The life of a demonic jailor is a sad and lonely one, as you've probably come to the conclusion. But we have a power that other people can only dream of and isn't it our duty to use that power to help the people who need it the most. Gaara we are bless with the bond of two brothers who can never leave us, some people go through their lives without anyone, just remember the next time you feel alone and isolated in your home: Shukaku will always be there for you.

As for the loss of Old Man Hokage...it was hard, he had served our village for so long and it was a shock to lose him to someone like Orochimaru. But that is all in the past now and we have a new Hokage who will serve us just as well as he did. I'm sure Tsunade would be honoured to renew our ally treaty with the Sand village when given the chance but given the state of the leaf village at this very moment I have a feeling your village will be grabbing for her attention, but I'll make sure to put in a good word for you. As for your darkness, I didn't calm it I merely showed you to your guiding light, I didn't do anything so great, I just lead you to your brother who is the one who has been helping you through everything. 

I haven't heard much about your father, but from what I have been told, I've deducted that the relationship you shared with him wasn't one filled with any love or affection, so as for not grieving at his death...my answer is no: you are not a bad person. To be truthful Gaara I am honoured you hold my opinion to such high regard but I don't believe that you should be asking me if you are a good person, because I don't believe I am a good person. As for Temari and her secret, I think Shikamaru feels the same way; I don't think he had ever been tested as hard as he had when he went up against your sister. Congratulate her for me for making Chunnin, unfortunately without a Hokage no decisions on whom and who hasn't made Chunnin have been decided. 

And just before I go...don't ever believe you can't write to me or reach out to me, I will say this as many times as I need to before you believe it yourself: You are one of my most precious people, you are my best friend, the only one who can truly understand me. 

Yours

Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto sighed and sat back before he scanned his letter once more before he nodded and then folded it and put it I a perfect envelope and whistled for the messenger hawk. As the beautiful bird landed on his window seal he couldn't help but smile and feed it a small mouse he found in the forest. "Can you take this to the sand village for me girl?" The hawk looked Naruto up and down once before it nodded and then rubbed its head against his hand as he tied the letter around his neck. "Good girl, go" Naruto said launching the bird from his arm.

As the hawk disappeared from sight Naruto's face darkened as he felt a presence behind him so whipping out his curved kunai Naruto spun around and faced his opponent who happened to be Kakashi "Kakashi Sensei!"

The silver haired ninja looked at Naruto with shock in his eyes and then smiled at him "Well hello Naruto how was your mission with Master Jiraiya?" Naruto glared at his sensei for a moment and then launched himself into Kakashi's arms who just looked shocked at the display of affection from the boy who had been cold towards him for the last few weeks. "Naruto?"

"Please don't hate me" Kakashi's gaze softened and he shook his head running an hand through the younger boy's hair comforting "I know I've been mean and angry at you for the last few weeks, but I couldn't help it, what you said to me really hurt and I tried ignoring you and what you meant to me, but I can't do it"

Kakashi took a deep breath and decided now would be the best time to come clean "Naruto, I haven't hated, not since I took care of you in ANBU" The blonde stilled and looked up and squinted until he gasped.

"Ookami?"

Kakashi nodded and then pulled Naruto into a large bear hug and smiled into the younger boys shoulder "You have no idea how long I worried over telling you about me, but you're not a little kid anymore and you don't deserve me keeping secrets from you anymore: you're not my little Kitsune anymore"

Naruto gulped down his tears and nodded into Kakashi's vest "Kakashi, I wouldn't have hated you; Ookami was like my father in ANBU I love you"

Kakashi stilled and pulled the boy away from him and stared at him in shock "but what about when I ignored you and shunned you after Itachi left?" he asked in shock, there was no way Naruto would have been able to handle rejection like that.

"To be honest I believe that I was avoiding you, not the other way round" Kakashi looked at Naruto in shock and the young boy chuckled a little as he turned and sat on his window seal motioning for Kakashi to sit down. "When Itachi left I felt guilty, I couldn't stop him no matter how much I pleaded, I had been so close to him for so long and yet I couldn't stop him. Then when you found me broken and bloody I couldn't help but be embarrassed, so when I got better I began to skirt around the team, started requesting solo missions more, then one day Team Ookami was disbanded and Falcon was my new Team leader and Rat was my guardian" Naruto said giving Kakashi a small smile which turned into a small frown when a dark memory crossed his mind.

"Naruto?" Kakashi asked in a concerned voice.

The blonde shook his head and then looked up at the cloud littered sky "It's just I never really thought I was alone, not really, I mean I always had you and the ANBU teams, or I had the temple elders, but the more I think about it, the only one I really had this whole time...was Kyu and that's what the council wanted all this time" Kakashi looked away in shame and then cleared his throat.

"That's not true you have team 7" the scarecrow said in a small voice making Naruto shake his head a little in sorrow.

"I wish it was that easy, but it's not, while in a way I do have you, you're my friends and I would die for you, but I don't have the bonds that you all have, I don't have someone to lean on when I'm scared and I don't have anyone to tell me what I do wrong and scold me, simply because I was born alone, Sasuke may say that it hurts more to have it ripped away from a person but in truth, he doesn't know what true loneliness is because he's always had someone" Kakashi looked down at Naruto and sighed himself, when the blonde started to talk all serious like, he couldn't help but feel old "Look Naruto I'm not saying that your life is perfect but think...if you hadn't gone through the training you had, do you think you would be able to protect your friends the way you have?" Naruto sighed and shook his head. Kakashi smiled slightly and took in a deep breath. "You've been gone to long Naruto, I missed you"

The blonde looked up at his sensei and then grinned "I missed you to Kakashi Sensei and I can't wait to show you how much stronger I've gotten"

Kakashi chuckled and then stared at Naruto's ink tipped fingers and cocked his head to the side curiously "Ah Naruto, did you write a letter?"

The blonde looked down at his fingers and then grinned happily before he nodded quickly "Yeah, Gaara from the sand village sent me one why I was away and I just replied, I hope he gets it okay" Naruto said in a nervous voice as he waited for Kakashi's reaction.

The silver haired Jonin nodded and stared at the now setting sun "It's good you and him, have become such close friends, I'll tell you one day your friendship...it'll be the stuff of legends" Naruto looked up at Kakashi and grinned

"Ya think so?" Naruto said happily, Kakashi nodded and smiled down at his student and then threw and arm behind him and leant back bracing himself on his arms. Naruto sighed and followed suit and for the first time since his early ANBU days Naruto felt at home.

Tsunade stared at the three Jonin in front of her and just shook her head in confusion "So let me get this straight...you want these two to advance? And only these two?" She said slowly as if to get her point across.

Anko nodded and stepped forward "Lady Hokage, these two not only proved that they can handle themselves in the field but from what I've been told, both of them have an idea of what it means to be a leader"

Tsunade pursed her lips as she stared at the two applicants in front of her and shook her head "but still just these two, surely one of the other finalists should qualify"

Ibiki stepped forward and shook his head "I'm afraid not milady, in my own test only these two were able to gather what information they needed without being spotted by my chunnin sentries and I'm saying this to be thorough to brag, but my chunnin are trained to the tee to spot cheating and information gather techniques, the fact that these two genin can do so without being spotted...that's pure skill"

Tsunade rubbed a hand over her brow and then stared at Gemma "Well what do you have to say, you fought just as hard for these two as the other proctors" she stated leaning back wanting to hear the young Jonin's argument.

Gemma sighed and played with his senbon before he stared at the two pieces of paper on the table "I'll make it brief, one of those two has the ability to make snap decisions and make an analgise of a battlefield and its advantages in mere seconds, the other can work out strategies so well thought out that he can anticipate the next move his opponent can do, there is no way either of these guys should be genin anymore, in fact I'd look up there records if you don't believe me" Gemma said in a bored tone.

Tsunade smiled and shook her head "That won't be necessary, Kotsue go get Izsum and get the two lucky candidates, I want to give them the happy news straight away" The proctors looked at Tsunade in shock and confusion and the Hokage decided she should elaborate "look I already knew who I was going to promote simply because of their test scores and the your three reports as well as the reports of the Sand sound Invasion, I just wanted you to tell me why I should promote them personally"

Anko was about to retort when the door opened and the two candidates entered, "You wanted to see us Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade smiled at both boys and then started to write on their applicant sheets before sighing "at first I didn't want to promote anyone, considering half the candidates didn't get to participate in their fights, but as it were your proctors were very forward in who they thought should become chunnin, so please let me be the first to congratulate you Shikamaru Nara, and Naruto Uzumaki for reaching the rank of Chunnin" Naruto and Shikamaru glanced at each other and then gulped before they smiled weakly at Tsunade who threw a Chunnin vest at both of them. "You don't have to wear it, but you get one either way"

Naruto nodded and just left the flak vest in his hand while Shikamaru pulled his on lazily, "Thanks Grandma" the blonde said winking before he jumped out the window to dodge the chair that came flying for his head "See ya"

Shikamaru laughed a little and then looked at Tsunade who was smiling herself "Lady Hokage...he may be a little rough, but you couldn't have chose a better chunnin then Naruto himself"

Tsunade smiled and then nodded, "Yeah I know"

When Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke Saw Naruto walking up to them the next morning with a new ninja headband and a chunnin patch on his sleeveless jacket, the pinkette couldn't help but giggle a little at how cute Naruto looked as he blushed. Kakashi clapped Naruto on the back and congratulated the blonde for making the rank so quickly reminding the silver haired ninja of himself. But unlike his two teammates Sasuke didn't make any move to congratulate the blonde, in fact he just stood back and stared at Naruto just running through all the things that had put the orange and black ninja in front of him.

"Sasuke?" The raven looked over at Sakura who was looking at him happily "Aren't you going to congratulate Naruto on making Chunnin on his first time?" The pinkette said excitedly as she looked over at Naruto who was talking with Kakashi and rubbing the back of his hair embarrassedly.

Sasuke nodded and walked over to Naruto who looked away and then punched him lightly in the shoulder "Congrates, but don't let this go to your head or anything, your still a dobe" Naruto grinned and nodded before slapping Sasuke on the back making the raven stumble a little.

"Just remember who the team's SIC is now" Naruto said in a happy voice.

Sasuke looked at Naruto like he had grown another head and almost laughed "Ah Naruto I'm the team's SIC, I always have been" Sasuke said in a taunting voice and then looked at Kakashi for confirmation who just shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, but now that Naruto is a Chunnin he is the second highest ranking ninja in the squad which means that he is the SIC from now on" Sasuke looked from Naruto and then from Kakashi and then at Sakura who nodded sadly and then walked off with head down. "Sasuke where are you going" Kakashi called out.

Naruto held his hand out and shook his head "Kakashi sensei, think about this, Sasuke is a Uchiha and on top of that he is Itachi's brother, try to understand that why I am important to him, the fact that I became a Chunnin before him and then took his position as SIC all in one blow is a bit much for him to swallow, the only thing that would make this day a little more bitter is if he lost his Sharingan" Sakura looked over at Sasuke's figure which was slowly disappearing from view and sighed.

Kakashi nodded and then ran a hand through his wild silver hair and then put a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled at him once again "I'm really proud of you Naruto, you did well" The blonde scratched the back of his neck and then laughed.

'You are aware that Shikamaru was made Chunnin as well"

Sasuke glared at everything in his room and then chucked a large book at his draws making one of them fall apart and fall to the floor. Sasuke sighed and walked over to the broken draw and found instead of clothes the draw had only two books in it. Looking around him to see if anyone was watching he slowly picked up a book and was shocked when he saw it was a diary entry.

Dear Diary

Today big brother came back from ANBU headquarters all happy, he even agrees to play with me...Sasuke looked at the words and then gasped, _'I remember this" _

_Flashback_

_Sasuke walked through the house his head stuck in a scroll when suddenly he walk head first into his brother who just laughed and helped pick him up. "Sorry big brother" he squeaked. He wasn't going to lie, he was six and he would honestly admit that his big brother scared him a little. _

_Itachi chuckled a little and then patted the young boy on the head "It's okay Sasuke, just watch where you're going next time remember being a ninja means more than just knowing things you have to be good at the practical side of things as well" Sasuke watched in shock as his big brother walked down the hall and into his room._

'What happened to him...he was happy?"

_Flashback_

Sasuke pulled himself out of the memory and flicked to another page and started to read fascinated with all the old memories he had kept away and hidden over the years._  
_

Dear Diary  
Something weird happened today, big brother was going to play with me, but suddenly a hawk landed and gave him a message and he just left me saying that it had to something to do with his charge...Sasuke looked at the words for a moment and then hummed as he remembered this particular memory.

_Flashback  
"Big brother are we going to play today" Sasuke said in a happy voice, Itachi smiled and nodded and slowly walked out of the house and into the back yard. 'Okay were going to play stealth search" Itachi chuckled a little at Sasuke's antics but then froze when he heard a hawk squawking on the air. _

"_Sasuke stay quiet for a moment" Itachi said and after a moment of making sure Sasuke wasn't going to say anything he whistled to the bird which gracefully flew to his shoulder and just perched there. _

_Sasuke stared at his brother for moment and then gasped when his older brother pulled a small strip of paper from the bird's leg and then read over the message. "Brother?"He asked quietly_

_Itachi looked up and scrunched the paper up and then sighed "Sasuke I'm sorry but I have to go" _

_Sasuke ran forward and shook his head "But why you never have any time for me, you have a mission practically every night and then you spend nearly all day at the ANBU base what is so interesting there" _

_Itachi fixed his younger brother with a glare and then sigh "Sasuke I can't do this my Charge needs me" _

_Sasuke stared after his brother who was had just disappeared and then sighed _"Who could his charge be?"

_Flashback_

Sasuke suddenly froze as some pieces fell into place: _"You always were jealous of him taking up my time when we were kids"_ Suddenly some of that made sense. Sasuke shook his head and glared at the pages in front of him.  
"There's no way Naruto is his charge" Sasuke whispered in a strong voice, but then he turned the page and another memory sprung forward.

Dear Diary  
Toady I met Big Brother's Charge, his name is Kitsune, I don't know much about him, or what he looks like for that manner, he kept his face covered by this huge black cloak, although he was waiting for Brother by our house and he had another ANBU with him who looked important but when the kid saw brother he rushed and gave him a hug. Sasuke looked at the words and remembered the first time he'd ever seen the cloaked boy

_Flashback  
Sasuke sat on the front steps of his house when two figures dropped down in front of him. One was shorter than him and was wearing a huge black cloak that covered all of his features and made him unrecognizable and the other was an ANBU with a Coyote mask on. The ANBU laughed at something the boy said and was about to say something in return when he spotted Sasuke sitting on the steps and bowed to him.  
"Hello Sasuke is your brother ready yet, we have a mission and are ready to go" Coyote said in a happy voice when suddenly the masked boy leapt forward until he was standing in front of him and Sasuke was staring into two bright azure eye.  
"Hello, I'm Sasuke" He said holding his hand out_

_Coyote was about to say something when Itachi walked out in full ANBU gear his mask askew "Kitsune you know the rules" Sasuke looked at the boy who nodded and then ran forward and hugged Itachi tightly "Yes I missed you as well" Itachi looked at Sasuke who was staring at the two of them with shock and then pulled Kitsune to stand next to him "Sasuke this is Kitsune: My Charge" _

_Flashback_

Sasuke sighed and shook his head and almost laughed "Yeah right like Naruto would ever get into ANBU he's good but he's not that good" Sasuke said as he put his childhood diary back into the draw.

But just as he was about to walk away something from his last encounter with Itachi ran through his mind _"Kisame take Kitsune"_ Sasuke's eyes went wide and his mouth went dry and suddenly everything became clear.  
"Naruto is Kitsune" Sasuke whispered as he stared out the window and then began to chuckle a little "Of course now it all makes sense, the way he was always tired at school, the way he was able to do things other students even I couldn't, they way he is okay with death and doesn't flinch at taking other people's lives" he said in a frantic almost mad voice.

Suddenly a glint caught his eye and when he moved towards it he froze when he saw a picture taken on one of their teams many C ranked missions, it was of him and Naruto. He was smirking at the camera while Naruto had his arm around his shoulder and was grinning happily. "You lied to me" He said smashing the picture on the table causing a huge crack to run up the middle of the photo. 

Tsunade looked over Lee and then sighed as she saw all the damage the fighter had taken to his spine. "So Grandma what's the verdict, can you fix Lee's injuries" Naruto asked softly unlike Gai who was bouncing from one foot to the other frantically.  
"Well it's not good; he has sand particles inside his spin and vertebra the only way to get them out would be an operation and even with my skill...he has a 50/50 chance at dying" Lee froze and Gai became stony while Naruto nodded and walked over to Tsunade and pulled her aside.  
"Is there any way to up the chances even 1 percent?" He asked "You don't know bushy brows like I do, being a ninja is his whole life" Tsunade saw the sorrow and determination in Naruto's eyes and then nodded.

"I'll see what I can do, but I want you to stay with him until I come and get you" Tsunade said fiercely and Naruto nodded and turned back to the two ninja who were just standing there and put his hand on Lee's shoulder and smiled at him warmly. Tsunade sighed and rubbed her forehead and quickly walked towards the medical library gnawing on her bottom lip _'I don't know what I can do, but Naruto I'll give it a shot'_

Lee looked down and chuckled "I guess that's it, I can't be a ninja anymore" Naruto looked over at Gai who looked heartbroken and motioned for him to leave "I mean I don't want to die and just one slip up, and it's over" As his sensei left the room Naruto sighed and picked Lee up.

"Come with me, I want to show you something" Lee frowned at Naruto confused but followed him anyway and when they got to the exit of the Hospital he was shocked to see, Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji, Shino and Sakura waiting for them.

"Naruto why'd you call us here" Shikamaru asked yawning loudly.

The blonde looked at each genin and the one chunnin and sighed "I'm sure by now you've noticed that I'm a little different to you guys and I'm sure you've all done your digging only to come up blank right" Most of the ninja in front of him looked down embarrassed. "Well I think it's time you learnt a little bit about me"  
Lee stared at Naruto in shock and then leant on him more as he lead the small group through the village until they came to a secluded part of the forest where a ANBU dropped down in front of them and bowed to Naruto. "We've been waiting for you"  
The group gave Naruto a confused glance but followed him anyway as they were lead into the ANBU base. "You made it" the group turned around and saw the ANBU that normally escorted Naruto to and from the academy standing on the balcony above them before he dropped down in front of him.

"Everyone meet Rat, head of the ANBU unit, and my old guardian" The group stared at Naruto in shock and Rat motioned for them to follow him until they reached the ANBU sitting room.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki as you all know" Naruto started off much to his audience who were captivated by him "But there is a side to me that you don't know and I thought that as my dear friends and comrades it was time you learnt" he said and then a large explosion of smoke surrounded him and when it cleared the group all gasped as they saw Naruto standing in full ANBU gear with his fox mask sitting askew on the left side of his head.  
"No way...your Kitsune" Kiba whispered and Naruto nodded sadly  
"Kiba's right, at a very young age I was I guess adopted by the ANBU and was sent on missions where I earned the name Kitsune, I continued to go on these missions throughout my academy day I only recently started going on the odd job now again" Naruto said holding up his arms for inspection.

Lee stared at Naruto in shock why the others talked among themselves or to Rat and then hobbled over to the blonde and sat down next to him "Why's you bring me here"  
Naruto smiled and looked up at the roof "Did you know everytime I went out on an assassination mission there was a 60 percent chance that I wouldn't survive, but did you know I still went" lee stared at Naruto in shock and shook his head confused.  
"But why?"

"Silly, I did it to serve the Leaf village. The truth is a ninja never has any idea that he will survive, they go into each battle thinking it might be their last and they have to treasure every moment their alive" Naruto said and Lee just stared at him in awe "I'm telling you this because your surgery is the same deal you really think that even if the odds were just a little better the outcome might be tipped"

"Are you saying, don't be scared" lee asked in an unsure voice and flushed deep red when Naruto threw his head back and laughed loudly

"Are you crazy, every ninja goes into battle scared, even the most harden ANBU have the moment before the engage the enemy where they are scared, but we overcome it with our need to complete the mission" Naruto said to the other ninja sitting with them who had started to listen in.

Lee nodded with a slight smile on his face and Naruto grinned and looked around at each ninja staring at him "I hope your all a little enlightened now"


	17. Shattered Dreams Broken Hearts

**Chapter 16: Shattered Dreams, Broken Hearts**

Naruto sighed as he looked at the night sky and took in a deep breath, it was hard to imagine he had only been a chunnin for a month especially when he hadn't seen his team for just as long. Ever since he had become a chunnin many people from all over the Land of fire had been requesting his assistance, after they had seen the way he had taken out Neji they had wanted that power to work for them. So far he had worked with Neji and Tenten twice as their team captain with Neji as his SIC and he had recently returned from a three week long mission with Zabuza on an S-Class assassination mission.  
"Could it be...yes it is it's Naruto Uzumaki in the flesh" Naruto laughed and turned around to see Kiba standing behind him without Akamaru. "How long it's been since you were actually in the village"

Naruto shook his head and groaned "Kiba don't become a chunnin it's too much hassle, you go on one mission and then you have like three hours and then your off again, or at least I am" the blonde said rubbing his face to wake himself up again.

The canine user stared at Naruto in concern and then bit his lip "Look Naruto usually I wouldn't say anything but you look terrible, are you getting any sleep?" Kiba asked as Naruto just sighed again "I mean you've sighed as much as Shikamaru does in this one conversation"

Naruto shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm just tired that's all, I'm tired of all the blood I've spilled" Kiba looked down as he knew the blonde wasn't talking about being a chunnin anymore, "I know I'm...different and that the village is always going to have some sort of prejudice against me and no matter how many friends I gain or how many missions I complete that will never change"

"That's not true, look at the Anton who runs the Temple he really likes and respects you, the older temple keeper does as well he talks about you all the time, and my grandfather likes you too he's always asking about you" Kiba protested loudly as he stared at Naruto's saddened face.

"Yeah, but your forgetting Kiba, I was in ANBU for most of my life, that's why Anton respects me, and no matter how many sending I do and how many times I go and see your grandfather the village will never stop hating me, it's been hardwired into them, they've hated me for too long, and I don't hate them for it, I just wish it was different" Naruto said shrugging a little.

Kiba chuckled and looked down making Naruto look at the dog boy in confusion "You really are amazing you know that?" Naruto cocked his head to the sighed and Kiba looked up at moon and grinned a little "You really don't know how amazing you are: You served in ANBU for years and yet your still able to joke and be a kid even though you've seen all you have, you brought Zabuza to our village and gave him a new purpose, you have affected so many people and you don't even know it" Kiba said chuckling a little "And through it all you stand by and you let the villagers glare and yell at you and call you names for no reason"

Naruto smiled and shrugged "I'm just doing my best, this place is my home, and the people who live here are precious to me, and even though not many people would care if I die, if any one of my precious people die I would be heartbroken, that's why I fight as hard as I do" Kiba stared at Naruto and felt his admiration for the boy grow even more "I'm not saying I'm not actively seeking out death I'm just saying that I'm not afraid of death"  
Kiba nodded and the two of them sat in companionable silence for a moment before Kiba hummed and stood up "Well then that settles it, you're staying at my place" Naruto stared at Kiba for a moment in shock at the unusual request and then just cocked his head to the side in confusion "Come on it'll be fun, anyway Zabuza is staying there to, he and my mom are getting along really well and he just randomly stays the night"  
Naruto chuckles and slung his arm around Kiba's shoulders and shook his head "My friend you have so much to learn" Kiba just elbowed the blonde in the ribs but let him keep his arm around his shoulders and lead him towards his estate.

"So how long has it been since you've preformed a sending then?" Kiba asked steering the conversation away from his mother and Zabuza. "I mean you've been away for awhile I bet you're going through withdrawals"  
Naruto shook his head and chuckled "nah I'm gonna go visit tomorrow I don't have to go visit Grandma Tsunade till later that afternoon I hope she doesn't send me on another long mission, but knowing her, she will" Kiba bit his lip and kept quiet but deep down he really wanted to know what it was like to be a chunnin and what a chunnin mission was really like.

"Look we're here" Kiba shouted and then raced the last stretch to his house with Naruto only a few steps behind him "Come On" the dog boy said laughing as he raced through the house only to knock into a wall of flesh.  
As Kiba sat on the floor Naruto leant against the door frame laughing as a shirtless Zabuza with a towel hanging around his neck stared down at Kiba who just grinned "Why hello Zabuza you get some did ya" Naruto said winking making Zabuza glare at the kid.

"Seriously we just spent the last three week without arguing your gonna push my buttons now?" Naruto just grinned and then wiggled his eye brows and Zabuza launched at him making Kiba drop to the floor in defence "COME HERE YOU BRAT!"  
"ZABUZA NO DESTROYING MY HOUSE!" The ex-mist Nin froze on the spot as Tsume roar echoed through the house and then he looked around him and sent Naruto a fierce glare.  
Naruto just smiled at him and walked straight passed the swordsmen and tapped Kiba on the head before he walked into Kiba's room. The dog boy followed the fox ninja into his room where he gave Akamaru a quick pat before he sat on the bed with his friend "So..."

"What is it Kiba?" Naruto asked in an amused voice "What do you want to ask me?"

"What's a Chunnin mission like?" Kiba asked quickly before a blush spread across his face, Naruto just stared at his friend for a moment before he burst out into laughter and wiped his eyes.  
"That's it?" Kiba nodded eagerly and Naruto sighed before scratching his head "Okay let's see...you have a lot more responsibility on a Chunnin mission, and a lot more is expected of you, in a chunnin mission you can't use the excuse that your just a genin and you didn't know any better" Kiba gulped and nodded so Naruto continued "It's a lot faster as well, you don't a have a lot of time to think things through, you have to be able depend on your teammates a lot more and you have to elect a SIC that you can trust and give your life too" Kiba openly gaped at him so Naruto confused, "Okay I can see you don't understand so I'll give you a reason: Say you're in danger and that there is a high risk that you will die, if you don't have a good Second In Command that you can rely on and trust on to continue the mission and keep the team together if you do happen to die then you won't just have to worry about dying, you already know the lives of your teammates are at risk"  
Kiba smiled and nodded "You've changed a lot you know that?" Naruto gave Kiba a strange glance and Kiba just sighed "I remember when you and I used to skip class together, now you're a chunnin and have a wicked bloodline and I find out you've been in ANBU for the last seven years, in my eyes you're a lot different to that blonde haired brat that used to sit next to me in the academy"  
Naruto smiled and looked up at the dark sky and nudged Kiba lightly with his knee "You should sleep it's late, you'll be too tired to participate in missions tomorrow if you sit up all night talking to me" he said softly.  
"But what are you going to do all night?" Kiba argued as his eye lids dropped and for the first time that night he figured out how tired he really was.  
Naruto chuckled and shrugged "What I do nearly every night...I'm gonna think" Kiba was going to argue even further when his eye lids closed completely and he slumped down on the huge mattress and fell asleep making Naruto smile fondly. Then with a calm exhale Naruto cleared his mind and ended up in front of his big brother.  
**"HELLO THERE LITTLE ONE, HOW ARE YOU, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SICNE YOU CAME AND TALKED TO ME BEEN BUSY HAVE YOU?" **Kyuubi asked in a kind but tired voice  
"Yeah sorry about that Kyu being a chunnin is a busy life, although being Kitsune was busier" he admitted as he walked towards the huge cage and leant against the huge steel bars that had separated them since he had first met Kyuubi all those years ago.  
"**KIT I DON'T THINK YOUR LIFE WILL EVER BE AS BUSY AS IT WAS BACK THEN, UNLESS YOU DECIDE TO JOIN ANBU AND THEN ALSO TAKE ON ANOTEHR JOB IN THE VILALGE?" ** Kyuubi said in an amused voice  
Naruto laughed along with his big brother and then sighed "I think Itachi is keeping track of me somehow" Kyuubi sat up alarmed and Naruto explained "You remember the cloaks he and that fish guy were wearing right?" The great demon nodded so Naruto continued "Well as Zabuza and I were heading back to the leaf village I saw two guys watching us in the same cloaks, except they were different, one had long blonde hair pulled up into a pony tail and the other kinda looked like Gaara"  
Kyuubi hummed and then shook his head **"WELL KIT YOU CAN'T SO ANYTHING AT THE MOMENT BECAUSE WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT, HOW IS YOUNG GAARA?" **Kyuubi asked in a kind voice, after their initial fight the fox demon had taken quite a shine to the jailor of his youngest brother.

Naruto chuckled and shook his head "He's doing well, adjusting to his new bond with Shukaku, but from what I can tell from his letters he's doing well, he's decided that as soon as he's able he's gonna come visit us" Naruto said referring to letter he'd received earlier that day when he'd arrived in the village.  
**"GOOD HE'S a GOOD BOY, A LOT LIEK YOU, SHUKAKU WILL BE GOOD FOR HIM" **Kyuubi said in a happy voice.  
"You only say that because Shukaku is happy in Gaara" Naruto said to his big brother before sighing "Hey Kyu"  
**"YES KIT?" **Kyuubi asked in a calm kind voice.  
"Would you mind telling me the story of the dragon sage?" Naruto asked eagerly, he loved this story even though it was a tragic story he loved it "Please"  
Kyuubi chuckled and nodded making Naruto jump up and down in excitement before he sat down and got comfortable. **"OKAY HERE GOES: MANY YEARS AGO, BEFORE THE TIMES WHEN THE NINE GREAT DEMONS RULED THE LANDS AND THE VILLAGES NEVER EXSISTED LIVED A CLAN, THIS CLAN WAS CALLED THE AEON CLAN. THIS CLAN WAS ONE OF THE STRONGEST CLANS TO EVER HAVE GRACED THE GREAT LANDS" **Kyuubi said in a wise old voice making Naruto envision the great clan **"NOW THIS CLAN WAS KNOWN NOT FOR THEIR GREAT JUT-SU LIKE THE UCHIA CLAN OR THE SENJI CLAN, NOR FOR THEIR SMARTS LIKE THE NARA CLAN, BUT FOR THEIR BONDS WITH THE DRAGONS" **Naruto gulped and nodded willing his big brother to continue **"YOU SEE BACK IN THOSE DAYS EACH CLAN HAD A SYMBOL ANIMAL, WHICH BELONGED TO THEIR CLAN AND THEIR CLAN ALONE, HENCE HOW THE SUMMONING SCROLLS WERE CREATED, NOW DRAGONS WERE AND STILL ARE GREAT POWERFUL AND REGAL BEASTS, AND THE FACT THAT THIS CLAN WAS ABLE TO BEFRIEND THE GREAT CREATURES AND BOND WITH THEM SCARED A LOT OF OTHER CLANS" **Naruto looked at the water below him and just like every other time Kyuubi told this story he moulded his bright red chakra into the form of one the great dragons he held such respect for **"BUT YOU SEE, THIS CLAN DIDN'T LIKE TO FIGHT, THEY WERE A PEACFUL CLAN, THIS IS WHY THE DRAGONS BONDED WITH THEM INSTEAD OF THE OTHER VIOLENT CLANS. ONE DAY A YOUNG GIRL WAS BORN INTO THE CLAN, SHE WAS JUST A NORMAL CHILD AT FIRST GLANCE, BUT THE GREAT DRAGON ELDER SAW DIFFERENTLY AND WITH A GREAT HONOUR HE BLESSED THE CHILD, MARKING HER WITH A DRAGON TATTOO ON HER RIGHT SHOULDER" **Naruto touched his own shoulder where a small part of his tattoo covered his shoulder and then continued to pay attention to the story **"THIS GIRL GREW UP WITH THE PRAISE OF THE CLAN, WHY SHE AT BIRHT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE MUCH, AS SHE GREW SO DID HER BEAUTY AND SO DID HER SKILLS, SHE WAS A PRODIGY AND BY THE TIME SHE TURNED SIXTEEN SHE WAS ONE OF THE MOST ACCOMPLISED NINJA IN THE CLAN. THIS OF COURSE ATTRACTED THE OTHER CLANS WHO WISHED TO MERGE WITH THE GREAT AEON CLAN, AND SO THEY BEGUN TO ASK TO MARRY HER TO ONE OF THEIR SONS AND THIS ANGERED THE GREAT DRAGONS, AS FAR AS THEY WERE CONCERNED THIS GIRL WAS THEIR'S SHE BORE THEIR MARK AND UNLESS SHE WAS TRUELY IN LOVE SHE WOULD NOT MARRY"** Naruto stared at Kyuubi in glee as the story was getting to his favourite part, and no matter how many times the great demon told this story the blonde boy never seemed to get bored of it **"NOW EVERY TIME THE CLAN TURNED AWAY POSSIBLE HUSBANDS THE OTHER CLANS WERE GETTING ANGERED AND SO MANY OF THE CLANS BANDED TOGETHER TO TAKE DOWN THE AEON CLAN CLAIMING THEY HAD GOTTEN ARROGENT AND COCKY WITH THEIR POWER AND NEEDED TO BE STOPED. SEEING HER CLAN'S POSSIBLE PERRIL THE GIRL RACED TO THE ELDER DRAGON'S RESTING PLACED AND PLEADED WITH THEM TO GIVE HER THE STRENGTH TO DEFEAT THE THREAT TO HER CLAN. THE DRGONS ACCEPTED HER REQUEST UNDER ONE CONDITION: TO BECOME THE SAGE OF THEIR SPECIES AND TO STAND BY THEM UNTIL THE END OF TIEMS UNAGING AS FROZEN AS A STATUE" **Naruto looked down sadly as this was one of the more sadder parts of the story **"NOW THE GIRL ACCEPTED WITHOUT HESITATION, SHE KNEW WHAT THE DRAGON'S DEAL MEANT BUT THE SURVIVAL OF HER CLAN WAS MORE IMPORTANT THEN HER OWN HAPPINESS, SO AS THE POWER OF THE GREAT DRAGONS FLOWED THROUGH HER AND SHE FELT HER BODY BEGIN TO SEEM TO FREEZE FROM THE INSIDE OUT SHE FELT NO REGRETS. THAT DAY THE NEWLY APPOINTED DRAGON SAGE FLEW DOWN TO THE BATTLEFIELD ON A BRIGHT RED DRAGON AND STOPPED THE FIGHT. AS THE OTHER CLAN'S RETREATED HER OWN CLAN WEPT OVER THE LOSS OVER THEIR PRODIGY, BUT THE GIRL EXPLAINED SHE WOULD NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE TIME CAME" **Kyuubi said looking down at Naruto who was thinking through everything carefully but motioned for her to continue. **"YEARS PASSED AND JUST AS SHE PROMISED THE DRAGONS SHE DIDN'T AGE AND WATCHED HER YOUNGER SISTER GET MARRIED INTO ANOTHER CLAN MAKING THE TWO CLANS MERGE HAPPILY, SHE WATCHED HER MOTHER DIE OF SICKNESS AND HER FATHER RETIRE FROM THE LIFE OF A WARRIOR AND CONTINUED TO LOOK AFTER THE CLAN WITH A PROTECTIVE SHADOW. ** **ONE DAY, NEARLY TWO DECADES AFTER SHE BECAME THE DRAGON SAGE A YOUNG BOY WAS BORN INTO THE CLAN AND AS AFTER EVERY BIRTH SHE WAS ASKED TO SEE THE BOY AND LOOK INTO HIS SOUL AND SEE IF HE WOULD MAKE A GOOD WARRIOR" **Naruto nodded as the chakra dragon turned into a woman shape cradling a small bundle **"WHEN THE SAGE LOOKED INTO THE BOY'S SOUL SHE SAW THE PUREST AND MOST AMAZING LIGHT SHE HAD EVER SEEN, SO AS THE TEARS FELL FROM HER EYES SHE TOLD THE MOTHER AND FATHER THAT THEIR CHILD WOULD LEAD THEIR PEOPLE. YEARS PASSED THE GIRL FOUND HERSELF DRAWN TO THE BOY AND LOOKED AFTER HIM AND CARED FOR HIM, IT WASN'T UNTIL HE REACH THIRTEEN THAT THE DRAGON SAGE FIGURED OUT THAT SHE LOVED THE YOUNG BOY. WHEN SHE TOLD THE ELDER DAGONS ABOUT HER NEW FOUND FEELINGS THEY TOLD HER WHEN THE TIME CAME HE WOULD JOIN HER IN ETERNAL LIFE. FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE HER TRANSFORMATION THE GIRL WAS HAPPY SOMTHING SELFISH HAD COME HER WAY, NEVER IN HER LIFE HAD SHE EVER LOVED OR WANTED SOMETHING AS MUCH AS SHE HAD THE BOY, AND SURE ENOUGH WHEN THE BOY TURNED SIXTEEN HE TO FELL FOR THE SAGE, BUT THE BOY WAS TO BECOME THE GREATEST WARRIOR THE CLAN HAD EVER SEEN SO MORE YEARS PASSED AND AT THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN THE BOY BECAME LEADER OF THE CLAN AND SLOWLY FORGOT THE FROZEN BEAUTY WHOM HE HAD STOLEN THE HEART OF AT BIRTH" **Naruto reached out and touched the weeping chakra woman and smiled sadly **"ANGERED AT HOW THE BOY HAD FORGOTTEN THE KIND AND WARM ACTS OF THEIR SAGE THE DRAGONS BEGAN TO FORGET THE CLAN AND INGORE THEIR PLEAS AND PROBLEMS, IT WASN'T UNTIL THE SAGE HERSLEF ASKED THE DRAGONS TO STOP THEIR TREATMENT OF THE CLAN DID THE DRAGONS RELENT AND GIVE INTO THE CLAN AND HELPED THEM. THE UNAGING SAGE STOOD BY AND WATCHED AS THE BOY SHE HAD FALLEN FOR AT HIS BIRTH FIND A NEW LOVE AND MARRY HER AND CREATE A NEW HEIR WITH A HEAVY HEART, BUT AT THE SAME TIME SHE KNEW THAT LOVING SOMETHING LIKE HERSELF WOULD ONLY HURT THE WARRIOR IN THE END. THIS WAS BECAUSE AFTER YEARS OF LIVING SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE GREAT BEAST THE GIRL WAS BECOMING MORE DRAGON THEN HUMAN. BUT SHE STAYED WITH THE CLAN FOR ANOTHER DECADE, BUT WHEN SHE WAS ASKED BY THE SENJI CALN TO COME LOOK AT THEIR OWN HEIR SHE WAS AMAZE BY THE BABY'S PURE SOUL AND THE GOODNESS THAT FILLED HIM, AND WITH A HAPPY VOICE SHE ANNOUNCED THAT THE BABY WOULD UNITE THE CLANS OF THE FIRE NATION TOGETHER INTO ONE UNIT, THIS BOY WAS THE FIRST HOKAGE" **Naruto smiled warmly as he saw the figure of the woman holding the baby up to the sky appear in the chakra **"AFTER HER VISION OF THE NEW WORLD THE SAGE WENT TO THE DRAGONS AND TOLD THEM OF WHAT SHE SAW, KNOWING THAT THEIR GUIDING PRESENCE WOULDN'T BE NEEDED FOR MUCH LONGER THE DRAGONS DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD GO INTO ETERNAL REST FROM THAT DAY ONWARDS, SO WITH A HEAVY HEART THE GIRL VISITED THE LEADER OF THE CLAN ONCE MORE WHO STILL REMEMBERED HER FROM HIS TEEN YEARS AND TOLD HIM OF HER PLAN TO FINALLY REST, THE WARRIOR BEGGED HER TO RECONSIDER AND TAKE HIM AS A MATE AS HIS WIFE HAD DIED THROUGH ILLNESS AND HE WAS STILL YOUNG AND IN HIS PRIME. THE SAGE DECLINE AND TOLD HIM TO JOIN WITH THE SENJI CLAN AS THEY WERE THE FUTURE, SO AFTER LEAVING HER TRUE LOVE FOR THE LAST TIME THE SAGE WENT TO HER DEVINE CAVE AND HER TRUE FAMILY THE DRAGONS CURLED AROUND HER AND IN ONE LARGE JUT-SU THE GIRL SENT THEM TO THE THEIR ETERNAL RESTS WHERE THEY SLEEP STILL NOW" **  
Naruto frowned and then splashed the water "I never really got it before now but why did the sage decline the leader at the end, she could have had her eternal mate but she said no" Naruto said in a confused voice.  
Kyuubi nodded and looked down at Naruto with sad eyes **"YES WELL SOEMTIMES WHEN A PERSON LOVES SOMETHING OR SOMEONE HEY JUST KNOW THAT AYBE IT'S BETTER IR THEM TO LEAVE THAT PERSON OR THING BECAUSE MAYBE BEING WITH THEM COU CAUSE THEM MORE HARM THEN GOOD, AND WHEN YOU LOVE SOMETHING YOU NEVER WANT THEM TO BE HURT EVER" **Naruto hummed and nodded as he saw the logic in what his older brother had said and then sighed.  
"Do you think that I could be as sacrificing as she was Kyu?" Naruto asked "Could I throw everything that I ever wanted away for the sake of their happiness later on?"

Kyuubi chuckled and then nodded **"KIT I BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO DO ANYHTING IF YOU BELIEVE THAT IT IS THE BEST THING TO DO?" **Naruto frowned but nodded anyway.

"I think I better wake up now" Naruto murmured and then bowed to Kyuubi once before he slowly faded out of the mindscape.

Sakura sighed as she walked to the meeting place, today was the first time since Naruto became Chunnin that the team would meet up and get their missions from Kakashi like the early days. But even though she was excited to see the blonde chunnin once again she couldn't help but think that maybe the worst thing that could happen was that Kakashi was going to flaunt that Naruto got better missions then the Uchiha heir right in front of Sasuke's face. Ever since he had found out Naruto was the new SIC Sasuke had been quite hostile to all things Naruto and whenever he was brought up in conversation the raven would just glare and mutter about the blonde being a liar and untrustworthy.  
"Sakura" The pinkette turned and saw her Boyfriend walking up to her slowly and with a bright grin she waved to him making the raven smirk happily, but on the inside Sakura couldn't help but notice how fake her smile seemed to be to her. "You ready?"

"You bet" Sakura said smiling happily and made sure to keep her muscles to stay relaxed when Sasuke threw his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple "I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone today"  
Sasuke just grunted and before either of them knew it they were standing at Team 7's meeting place alone: no Naruto and no Kakashi. Sakura just smiled warmly and shook her head "Those two will never change"  
Sasuke just clenched his jaw and pulled Sakura until she was up against his chest "Tell me what do you feel for me?" Sakura looked up at him bewilderedly and just opened and closed her mouth "I need to know you're not just with me because I'm Sasuke Uchiha"  
Sakura's eyes warmed which made Sasuke's spine tingle and she smiled before cupping his face with her hands and kissed him lightly. "Sasuke I gave you the most precious thing I had to offer, I could never give that to someone that I truly didn't love, what I did with Gaara...It was totally different to what I would do for you"

Sasuke gave his girlfriend and small smile and then hugged her tightly against his chest "I feel the same" Sakura smiled but then bit her lip as Sasuke buried his face into her neck. It was true she did love Sasuke, but she wasn't sure how, she didn't regret dating him but she knew if it came down to it she would end the relationship.  
"Aw how cute" Sakura grinned and pulled away from Sasuke a little to stare into Naruto's grinning face who had his deep shadows under his eyes making her scowl a little. "Sakura you look made, why?"

Sakura put her hands on her hips and glared at the boy sitting on the wooden stump happily "Let me see, you haven't been sleeping lately?" Naruto looked down guiltily and then smiled at Sasuke who just glared and then looked away. "Seriously Naruto you have to start taking better care of yourself"  
Naruto looked down in sorrow and then plastered a fake grin on his face "Sorry Sakura I'll try" Sakura smiled and nodded "Oi Sasuke what's up have I done something wrong"  
The raven glared at the blonde and walked up to him until they were almost touching noses "Yeah, you think since you're a Chunnin your better than me" Naruto stepped back in shock and shook his head  
"Where'd you get that idea from? I've never thought that once about you, I just ended up getting to show my skills off a little easier than you" Naruto said in a small voice, if there was one thing he didn't want to do it was upset his teammates.

Sasuke sneered and then looked around "Good if you truly believe that I'm chunnin material you'll fight me, and you'll do it now" Naruto smiled and then nodded, truthfully he had wanted to fight Sasuke since the academy.  
Sakura gulped when she noticed that Sasuke was being serious, he wasn't looking for a friendly spar he was looking for an all out brawl. Taking a few steps back Sakura watched nervously as the two boys faced each other on either side of the field and all fell silent and the wind swept through with a howl. Sasuke looked up his Sharingan blazing loudly and Naruto activated his Pentingan just in case he would need to use one of his six pathways.  
Sasuke was the first move and charged Naruto who simply made a Shadow clone and threw it at the Uchiha who made it disappear in a puff of smoke, but that short distraction was all Naruto needed to launch himself forward with his impressive speed and kick the Uchiha in the chin sending him flying forward.

"Too slow Sasuke" Naruto taunted in good humour unaware of the several pairs of eyes watching their battle.  
The Uchiha glared and launched himself at Naruto in Tai Jut-su that the blonde was easily matching. But then when Naruto flipped him in the air Sasuke smirked and quickly ran through one of his favourite chains of hand signs "Fire Ball Jut-Su" The Uchiha heir shouted out loudly and then spat out a giant fireball that enveloped the blonde. Sakura gasped when she saw this but then smiled when she saw Naruto jump out of the flames with his two huge wings and slam his body into Sasuke where he grabbed him and linked his arms around him.  
"That kinda hurt" Naruto admitted and then threw Sasuke to the ground where the Uchiha landed perfectly "Nice landing but a bit late" Sasuke's eyes went wide as Naruto pulled his wings in tight and began a suicide dive. The Uchiha heir didn't even have time to blink when the blonde torpedo slammed into him.  
Naruto jumped up from the crater he had created and then smiled when a beaten and bruised Sasuke pulled himself from the huge hole that Naruto had created. "I'm not Kiba one attack won't finish me"  
Naruto nodded and then jumped forward and slammed his foot down which Sasuke only just managed to dodge but then with a smirk Naruto ran through a chain of hand signs and then slammed his hands together and then pulled smiled at Sasuke who starred in confusion "Howling Strike Jut-su" Naruto said and then blurred forward and punched Sasuke so hard he flew up into the air and then began to run through the hands for chidori.

"Shit" Naruto saw this and swore before quickly summoning a clone who begun to help form his Rasengan.  
Sasuke's eyes went wide as he stared at the spinning ball of chakra and then glared _'What is that?'_

Sakura looked from either boy and then couldn't stop the tears from falling "Stop!" she screamed.  
Sasuke grit his teeth as he noticed he couldn't stop himself from falling into Naruto's attack and from the look that Naruto was displaying it seemed neither could he. _'Well let's see how this ends' _Sasuke thought as he made himself fall a little faster towards Naruto who was leaping towards him.

But just before the two attacks could collide Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and threw the two in opposite directions, Naruto went flying into a nearby water tank that was used for the small taps on the training fields so ninja's could cool down and Sasuke went flying into a nearby tree. When the attacks collided with the object the aftermath couldn't have been more different. When the Chidori collided with the tree the whole tree was smash to bits and fell down with Sasuke's hand jammed straight through the trunk. But when the Rasengan collided with the water tank all that happened was that a small sphere indent and a tiny hole leaking water was all that was left behind making Sasuke smirk at the tiny effect Naruto's attack had left behind.

"Sasuke!" the raven turned around and saw Kakashi who was staring at him in disappointment "were you trying to kill Naruto or what?" the raven turned around in annoyance and then jumped off making Kakashi sigh and then stare at Naruto who was staring at his hand. _'That was defiantly the Rasengan'_

Sasuke smirked as he walked into the village, he now knew whose attack was better but just as this thought crossed his head a drip of water hit his head and when he looked up he was terrified to see that he was standing under the water tank that Naruto's attack had landed in and unlike the front the whole back of the metal tank was blown open and the water was soaking the ground before him. _'No way'_

Naruto stood up and stared at Jiraiya who was sitting on the very same training post he normally sat on and then looked down in guilt "Jiraiya are you the one who taught Naruto the Rasengan?" Jiraiya snorted and gave Kakashi a unbelievable look.

"You're kidding me right, who else could have" the toad sage said "and I don't regret it"

Kakashi sighed and then looked over at Naruto who was walking away with his head bowed not drawing attention to himself "Are you sure you should be entrusting Naruto with such a powerful jut-su do you truly think he can handle such a responsibility?"

Jiraiya shook his head at Kakashi's arrogance and jumped down and cracked his neck "Like Sasuke is any better, he's more unstable then his brother and you give him a power like the Chidori, if I were you I wouldn't be worrying about Naruto I'd be worrying about Sasuke" the toad sage said before he walked off leaving a terrified Sakura and Kakashi standing in his wake.  
"Sensei, was that Naruto's new teacher?" Sakura asked as Jiraiya walked off, Kakashi nodded and Sakura gave Kakashi a glance before sighing "I think he'll be able to teach Naruto a little more then you" Kakashi gave Sakura shocked look to which she gave the silver haired Jonin a pitying look "Please sensei I know about the chunnin exam, remember I was Lady Sara" Kakashi sighed and looked back at the direction where Naruto and Sasuke each raced off in and then disappeared in. "You should go to Sasuke, I think at the moment he needs you" Kakashi nodded and then jumped off and followed Sasuke.

Naruto looked over the village and smiled, the view from the Hokage monument was so great that he could see the whole village from his perch on the fourth's head. It was his secret that this was the place he came to think when something was troubling him deeply. "I see you really are like me when I was young"

Naruto turned around and saw Jiraiya standing behind him with a small smile on his face "I used to come up here to think when I was troubled when I was just a young kid" Naruto chuckled and then looked out at the village once more and sighed.  
"Are you ashamed at me?" Naruto asked looking at Jiraiya with a scared tint in his eye, he would never tell the perverted sannin it, but in the short time he had known the man he had somehow become one of his most cherished people to be with.  
Jiraiya shook his head and clapped Naruto on the shoulder lightly "No, there's nothing to be ashamed of, you reacted like any true ninja would of" Naruto nodded and then took in a deep breath.  
"What happened to him, a everything was fine at the chunnin exam and then when I came back with Tsunade he all of a sudden started to hate me" Naruto said in a sad voice.

Jiraiya breathed deeply and let his hand slip from Naruto's shoulder and scratched his chin thoughtfully, "If I knew what went on in an Uchiha's mind kid, I'd have the answer to some perfectly good question, but I don't the only thing I can think of is that you are a chunnin and he isn't" Naruto chuckled and then shook his head.

"You know when Itachi was my guardian I swear that I knew what he was thinking without him even having to say anything we were that close so maybe Sasuke is just a bastard and won't let anyone close" Jiraiya howled with laughter and slung his arm around his students shoulder and grinned at the blonde.  
"Come on let's go drink, my shout" Naruto shook his head but let the Toad sage drag him to the nearby bar.

Sasuke slammed his hand on the tree and then buried his head in his hands, he still didn't know why he reacted the way he did, he had just lost it as he watched Naruto joke around with Sakura like he didn't have a care in the world even though he had been lying to them for almost a full year. "Dammit" he shouted

"Language" the Uchiha whipped around and saw Kakashi standing only a few steps away from him "You are supposed to set an example, and the one you're showing now, well I'd hate for any genin to follow you right now"  
Sasuke glared at Kakashi and was going to jump off when Kakashi slammed him to the tree with wires and allowed him to sit down "What you going to give me a lecture about how I should move on and I've had enough time to mourn? You don't have the right to say such things to me, because the ones you love the most weren't killed in front of your eyes were they?"

Kakashi nodded his head and Sasuke smirked triumphal and then the scarecrow fixed Sasuke with a cold glare "No I haven't because all the people you just mentioned...they're already dead" Sasuke looked down ashamed and gulped. "Sasuke, I'm not here to lecture you but if that's what it takes you to listen then I will, I know what it's like to lose everyone you've ever cared about and then wanted to get revenge for those people, but that road is one full of loneliness and darkness, it's easy to get lost their Sasuke, but were lucky Sasuke" the raven's head flew up and he stared at Kakashi in shock "we have people who love us and want to help us through our grief and in turn they'll become our precious people and we'll become there's" Sasuke gulped back the thick feeling in his throat and then took a deep breath "Okay that's it, lecture over, think about it Sasuke"  
Then with a poof the Uchiha was alone once again only this time with more troubling thoughts filled with Sakura and Naruto, "What should I do, Mama Father, please help me" Sasuke whispered as he curled in on himself even as four sets of eyes watched him closely.  
Night fell and Naruto stood in his apartment watching Jiraiya snore loudly on his bed, it had only been a few moments before as he dragged a drunk Jiraiya across the town to his apartment and then allowed the drunk sannin crash at his house. But when he looked up at the full moon he couldn't help but feel like something bad was about to happen.

Sasuke sighed and leant against the tree he had been sitting on for the whole day and then tensed when suddenly he felt the presence of four different people. When he looked up he saw four different ninja standing in front of him all sporting large purple rope bows around their waists. "What is rope in this season" Sasuke joked leaning up against the tree and smirked at each of the ninja one of which was sporting the sound headband.  
"Sasuke Uchiha?" The one right in front of him asked. He pale purple hair and his red rimmed eye making him look sickly.  
"Yeah who wants to know" Sasuke asked glaring at the sickly looking man with the hump on his back.  
"We're the sound ninja four" The girl said bright red fiery hair and a large attitude.  
Sasuke smirked at her and then looked her up and down "Wait you're a girl I'm sorry for a second there I thought you were a long haired girl" once he finished Sasuke couldn't help but notice how much like Naruto he sounded.

The girl glared at Sasuke and was about to retort when the headband wearing man who had six arms making him look like a spider covered her mouth "You got quite a snarky little mouth on you don't you...or are you channelling your blonde teammate"  
Sasuke smirked and the leant forward and mock whispered "nah I'm takin after your daddy, because we all know he loved me more" the spider man glared and took a step forward and was gonna grab Sasuke when the largest man out of all four pulled him back.  
"Bring him back alive, those were the orders" The large man said not looking Sasuke in the eye.  
"Yeah spidey listen to tubby" Sasuke mocked making the larger man growl but made the others smirk.  
"Yep channelling that Naruto kid all the way" the girl said crossing her arms and then bent down so she was eye level with the now angry Uchiha. "You think this is the first time we've watched you, no we've been watching you for a little bit, and I can clearly say that Naruto...he's the only snarky one on your team you...you can't be snarky even if you were paid to"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and was going to strike out when the sickly man started to laugh "Oh Tayuya stop teasing the boy, he already knows that Naruto is better than him, I mean the blonde kid is the one who became a chunnin why he stayed as a lowly genin"

The spider man nodded and then smirked "I don't know why Orochimaru wants' this brat I mean Naruto would be a much better replacement don't you think Sakon?" the sickly man nodded and the larger man grunted.  
"I'm just as good as Naruto maybe even better" Sasuke growled standing up, he was Sasuke Uchiha no one compared him to a no named loser.  
Sakon fixed Sasuke with a cold glare and shook his head "Please you can't control the cursed mark, and not to mention little Naruto...well he was in ANBU wasn't he" Sasuke's fists bunched and his breathing became harsh "but there is a way for you to become better than him"  
Sasuke's head shot up at this and he looked around wildly "Really, how I'd do anything" Sasuke hissed, he would not lose to the blonde loser, he would do the Uchiha name proud.  
"Come to Orochimaru he can train you" Tayuya said putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder "He'll grant you powers that you could never even dream of and then he'll help you master them to destroy Naruto and show your pretty pink girlfriend that you are the strongest ninja on your team, no in the whole of the leaf village"  
Sasuke nodded and then looked over at the two unintroduced members and glare "I know these two, but who are you?" The spider man grinned and cleared his throat  
"Kidomaru at your service" the six armed man said in a cocky voice

The big man looked at Sasuke and then grunted "My names Jirobo"  
Sasuke looked at each of them and then grinned "Two hours on the hill outside the Leaf village meet me there" the four ninja all smiled and then nodded before they disappeared in a blur. Sasuke smirked and then looked out at the village before rushing to his house.  
After quickly packing a back pack filled with all his personal belongings he walked out of his large empty house and didn't look back, but when he was on the home stretch he saw Sakura sitting at one of the benches looking up at the stars. "Sakura?"  
"Did you know that this is the only road out of the village" She said in a soft but kind voice "Tell me what you'd be doing on this road at this time of night Sasuke?"  
Sasuke looked at her and then cleared his throat "You should go home Sakura, it's late" he said trying to make sure his voice didn't waver when he was talking to her. "This is none of your business"  
Sakura laughed a little and stood up and stared at him sadly "you asked me this morning how I felt about you and I told you the truth am I not enough to make you stay or is your jealousy of Naruto really that important?" she asked in a biting tone.  
Sasuke saw red and walked until he could practically feel her breath on his face "You are the reason I'm going" Sakura shook her head and moved forward a little.  
"Why would I want the one I love to become a missing Nin huh" she whispered in a harsh tone making Sasuke bristle.  
"You really don't notice do you, how when your around Naruto you act differently how you take his side in almost everything, hell you even took Gaara's side when I was arguing about him a few weeks ago, and the only conclusion can come up with is that I'm not strong enough for you!" Sasuke shouted and then grabbed Sakura by the shoulders his eyes wild "I know, you can come with me, we can rule sound together"  
Sakura's face morphed into one of disgust and she tore herself out of Sasuke's grip and shook her head "No, this is my home Sasuke my precious people are here" Sasuke turned his head away so Sakura couldn't see the tears and then reached up and kissed Sakura softly on the lips once more.  
"I'll never forget you" he whispered before he slammed his hand in the back of her neck and put her on the very bench she had been sitting on earlier.

"I'll come back I promise and by then I'll be a ninja you can depend on" Sasuke whispered before leaving the only girl he'd ever cared for sleeping on a stone bench.

Kotsue and Izsum were walking through the village with large stacks of medical books when suddenly they saw Sakura sleeping on one of the nearby benches "Hey Kotsue isn't that Naruto's female teammate?" Izsum asked in confusion.

Kotsue nodded and then walked over to the girl and shook her shoulder and woke her up slowly "hey you can't sleep here, you'll get a cold" the elder chunnin said softly as he woke the slumbering girl up.  
As Sakura's eyes slowly blinked open she realized what had happened and then biting her lips she turned and turned to Kotsue who looked at her questioningly "I have to speak with Lady Tsunade" **  
**


	18. Naruto's Decision

**Chapter 18-Naruto's Decision**

As the team raced along the tree tops suddenly Naruto felt Chouji's chakra signature just drop out to nothing and he froze making the others circle around him in concern. "Hey Naruto you okay?"  
Naruto looked up at Shikamaru and then gulped "I can't feel Chouji's chakra anymore, it's gone" he whispered and then closed his eyes and looked away as the pain of losing a friend hit him hard.  
Shikamaru fell silent and then cleared his throat "and the big guy" he choked out in a strained voice.  
Naruto closed his eyes and let his chakra fan out and then he smiled and nodded "he did it, that guy is nowhere to be found"  
Kiba looked down sadly and even Neji adverted his eyes in sorrow, and when Naruto looked at Shikamaru he thought the boy was going to break so with a anger that hadn't flooded his systems since his first confrontation with Zabuza he grabbed Shikamaru by the lapels of his chunnin vest "Don't you dare let his sacrifice be in vain" he growled and then fixed each member of the group with a angry glare "he willingly took on the risk of fighting that guy so that we would be able to carry on and complete this mission, and what do we do? We stand around I our own little pity party, I know that losing Chouji was hard, but wouldn't it be better to complete the mission so that we can all say that we did this for Chouji?" Naruto said now looking at each member who were all staring at him in awe.  
"Naruto, you can let me go" Shikamaru said as he touched Naruto's wrist in a light grip "I understand now" the shadow user said in a sad voice "now I know what it means to be a leader" he said and then looked forward and sighed "Okay let's go we don't have much time before they reach the boarder of the fire nation and then everything that happens will be out of our hands and we can't let that happen"  
Naruto nodded and the four of them shot forward through the foliage why Naruto took one more sad look backwards _'don't worry Chouji your sacrifice won't be in vain' _

Sakura sat on the steps of the temple just staring up at the clouds and couldn't help but crack a small smile, but just as she was about to re-enter the temple Kotsue jumped in front of her and bow "Lady Tsunade would like to talk with you" Sakura sighed and nodded before letting the elder ninja transport her to the Hokage's office where she quickly bowed to the elder woman.  
"Good, now I want to talk to you about suitable ninja to go after Naruto's team" Sakura's eyes snapped open and the Hokage smiled sadly "The truth is the only ninja on that team who could fight any of the sound ninja personally trained by Orochimaru and get away with his life would be Naruto and seeing as Shikamaru was put in charge of the mission I don't know how far he'd be able to go, and to make matters worse this is Shikamaru's first mission as team leader, Naruto at least had two missions as team leader under his belt"  
Sakura nodded and then took a sheet of paper and wrote three names on it before giving it back to the Hokage who raised an eyebrow at her choices "are you sure these three are right for the job?"  
Sakura smiled and nodded "yeah I think that out of all the ninja's Naruto knows I think that those three would be willing to do anything for him" Tsunade sighed and nodded  
But just as Sakura was turning to leave Sakura heard what she thought was hurried footsteps racing around from the door, but then frowned and shook her head in confusion, there was no way anyone would have the guts to stand outside and listen to a private conversation with the Hokage.  
"Lady Tsunade, you love him don't you?" she said pausing at the door "Naruto you love him don't you"  
Tsunade smiled warmly but then nodded "Yeah he's the adorable but annoying grandson I never had" Sakura nodded and then left the office with a sigh and then ran straight into Zabuza who was staring down at her with a strong gaze.  
"Naruto will be fine, I never found more capable ninja when I went on my mission with him" Zabuza said in a soft voice making Sakura nod and then sigh when the swordsmen walked away, getting all the speeches about how great Naruto was and how there was no way that he could be killed was actually getting tiring she knew Naruto was strong and she knew that Naruto could handle himself but she also knew that the others weren't Naruto and couldn't handle themselves like Naruto could, they weren't raised in ANBU like he was. Sakura was so caught up in her own world that she didn't see the familiar green spandex wearing figure creeping out the doors of the hospital and slowly running towards the Leaf village gates.

Naruto looked down at the group once again but this he was alone and taking a deep breath he could sense from the fighting and bickering that was going on in the group that the last three sound ninja had figured out that Jurobo wouldn't be coming back and that they knew they were close.  
"I say we turn back and destroy those little snot nosed brats once and for all" Tayuya growled out in annoyance.  
Sakon sighed and shook his head "We can't do that Orochimaru needs Sasuke before tomorrow and we have a lot of ground to cover and quickly" the sick looking man spat out "come on"  
Naruto took a deep breath and then jumped out of foliage and landed right on the coffin and smirked up down at Kidomaru and winked "Hiya, you weren't going to start without me are you, if you were I'm offended" he said and then flipped back to avoid the strike the spider like man had aimed for him.  
Kidomaru smirked as the other members of Naruto's troops landed next to him on the tree and then threw the coffin to Tayuya and cracked his hands "Go on, I feel like playing for a little bit" Naruto glared at the spider man as the other two sound ninja were able to race away.  
Kidomaru turned to face them and his face morphed into a wide crazed grin. "Now are we going to have some fun?" he said before spitting four globs of white out at each member which only Naruto had managed to avoid. "Oh and what do you know, the Kitsune dodged the attack" Kidomaru cackled.

"Don't underestimate my teammates" Naruto shouted as he felt Neji slowly freeing himself as he dodged another string of what looked like spiders web. _Duck now_ like all the times before Naruto trusted his instincts and then dodged an orange piece of silk that had lodged itself into the tree behind him with a loud thump.  
"Damn how'd you dodge that you're a fast little thing aren't you" Kidomaru said crouching on the tree with a fascination as he watched Naruto's graceful movements. "I guess the stories about you are true"  
Naruto growled and was about to dodge another strike when out of nowhere Neji sliced the sting before it could get to him. "Don't even think of harming my friends, or I will end you" Neji spoke in a deadly low tone. Naruto smiled and then looked behind him to see Kiba and Shikamaru already freed from their spider silk prisons.  
"Hey that's really uncool I was gonna have a bit of fun with him" Kidomaru said in a gleeful voice when he saw Naruto glare at him something fierce "Oh the kid ahs a glare, I like feisty"  
Naruto just shook his head and stepped up next to Neji but was shocked when the Hyuga pushed him back a tiny bit "Go on, I can handle him"  
"Neji are you an idiot, this guy will kill you" Naruto grit out he wasn't going to lose another friend like he did Chouji he wouldn't.  
The Hyuga gave Naruto a small smile while activating his Byukugan and then looked back at Kidomaru "This is as far as I go in this mission, by job now is to stop this creature from passing, Chouji was right Naruto you are the only one who can truly get through to Sasuke" Shikamaru looked down and sighed tiredly and looked at Naruto who was refusing to move.  
"Naruto let's go" he called out "Leave Neji, that's an order"  
The blonde took a step back and was about to turned when Neji stopped him "Naruto sometimes you're eye sight is better than even my own, Sasuke needs you're light right now, help him, show him the way back to us" Naruto nodded and clapped Neji in a monkey grip.  
"This is a sign of comradeship in the ANBU and you are defiantly my comrade" Naruto said before releasing Neji and jumped off with the rest of the group through the team.  
"Oh I've only got one playmate, that's boring" Kidomaru said pouting when he saw Naruto jumping off "I want to play with the little fox" he said in a crazed voice as he released his silk strings again towards Naruto only to have them shredded by Neji who jumped into their path.  
"Trust me, I will be more than enough entertainment" Neji said in a stiff voice. Kidomaru looked the Hyuga up and down once and then grinned happily.  
"oh yes I think I'm going to have some real fun with you" he said jumping back so that he could fire more string at the Hyuga only to have it cut all over again.  
Neji frowned as he noticed the small disadvantage he had _'he's a long range attacker and I'm a close combat fighter, this won't end well'_

Zabuza stared out at his pupils in boredom, truthfully the chunnin didn't need to be under his tutelage any more, they had become master assassins weeks ago, but it seemed that the kids had cold feet about leaving the master assassin as they were only just now accepting solo missions.  
"Zabuza sensei is something troubling you" a chunnin asked the troubled Jonin.  
Zabuza stared at the teenager and waved him away and then dismissed his students, before walking through the village until he reached the Temple where Anton was sighing loudly.  
"Zabuza you've returned, if you keep coming this frequently your gonna end up like Naruto" the ex-shinobi said when he spotted the swordsmen.  
Zabuza grinned and then sat down on the steps and ran a hand through his short cropped hair "I wish the kid would stop making me so stressed all the time sometimes though, I feel as if I'm going to lose my hair whenever I hear he's in trouble" Anton laughed and nodded.  
"Yeah I know what you mean, I remember when he was just a kid, and he was forced to go on this really high ranking solo mission I was so scared for him and until he got back I didn't stop pacing" Anton said in a happy voice as he remembered his old ANBU days.  
"Tell me what was Naruto like...back then" Zabuza asked looking at the ex-ANBU officer with a hooked expression.  
"Well Naruto was a lot more innocent back then, he hadn't had been forced to make all the tough decisions yet and still had that bright child like curiosity alight in him, but the worst thing about ANBU is it slowly destroyed that, I literally watched as Naruto grew up into a man before his time" Anton said rubbing his forehead.  
"Really because I think the kids still sort of immature at times" Zabuza said chuckling a little.  
Anton laughed and nodded "Yes Naruto still is a kid at heart but you must have noticed that when it comes down to a mission Naruto takes on a whole different persona"

Zabuza nodded and the sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair "I wonder how Kakashi's going to take the news, he is one of the most closest to the kid" he said in a slightly sad voice.  
Anton hummed and chuckled a little "I have a feeling Kakashi will be more stressed than you my friend"

Neji dodged another string and the jumped towards the spider man and then smirked when he entered the field of combat. "8 trigrams 64 palms" Neji said and then begun to seal all the 64 chakra points in the body "2 palms, 4 palms, 8 palms, 16 palms, 32 palms, 64 palms" he said before kicking Kidomaru sending him sprawling to the ground. "I just sealed all 64 chakra points in your body there is no way you're getting up"  
But just like in his battle against Naruto Neji was shocked into silence when Kidomaru stood up and orange armour like substance that covered his body all cracked and fell off his body in large chunks. "That attack is pretty handy kid, but it doesn't help if I can create armour from every sweat grand in my body now does it"  
Neji grit his teeth and then glared at the spider like man who was hanging upside down on a nearby branch "Very clever and useful" Neji spat in an annoyed tone making Kidomaru laugh.  
"You really aren't like Naruto at all are you, no wonder why he beat you in the finals, you see unlike him you don't have what it takes to truly be a ninja, you haven't gone to that dark place and had to live through it, that Naruto kid, he still hasn't crawled his way out of that hole" Neji glared at Kidomaru and then readied himself for an attack when Kidomaru strung a spider web between one set of his hands and then ran through hand seals with the others "Summoning Jut-su"  
Neji paled when suddenly a huge spider hung above him and what made things even worse was the huge white sack that it was now creating from the silk glad on its rear end. "This can't be good" Neji whispered looking up at the huge spider.  
"Let's fly boys" Kidomaru howled as he cut the sack sending hundreds of tiny baby spiders falling towards Neji who took the tradition Hyuga stance and then took in a deep breath.  
"8 Palms: Rotation" The Hyuga prodigy said and then released his chakra in a large burst while spinning in a large orb, only to have the silk that was connected to the baby spider's silk glands slow him down to almost a stop as they surrounded him. _'Damn, I can't rotate with them'  
_All the while Kidomaru was watching the fight very closely only to smirk as he watched Neji's spinning come to a halt "So the little brat can't rotate when under too much force can he"  
But then Neji took the same stance he had before slamming him with his 64 strikes and then begun striking each of the baby spiders singly making them cry out in pain and then curl up and die. "I'm not done yet" Neji called out when the baby spiders stopped falling.  
Kidomaru jumped out of the foliage and then sat on a tree swinging his leg _'let's see how close Naruto and this freak were' _he thought before smirking at the Hyuga who glared back "You know what I said about Naruto still being in his little hole, well I think I was wrong...that kid had no chance he was born in that hole, that blonde little killer, he's a step above monster and that's putting it lightly, that kid...well he'll never be able to change"  
Neji glared and then shook his head and dodged a kunai that Kidomaru had strung up behind him with perfected ease making the spider like man to gap _'what! Does this kid have eyes on the back of his head or something?"  
_"Naruto is one of the most kindest ninja I have ever had the pleasure of fighting side by side with, if he is anything he's the opposite of a monster" Neji said as he remembered the second day he and Naruto had been on their first mission together.

_Flashback  
The attack had come out of nowhere and had ended up with Tenten being separated from them and with Neji with a deep and painful gash on his upper thigh but as the Hyuga looked at Naruto he couldn't help but notice the arrange of wounds Naruto had acquired and yet there the blonde sat dripping blood but still quickly working on his injuries instead.  
"Naruto you should treat yourself first I'll be fine" Neji gritted out in pain as Naruto poured alcohol on his large wound.  
The blonde shook his head and grunted "I heal faster than you do" was all the blonde said before quickly pulling the bandages tight around the brunette's leg.  
Neji gasped out in pain as he felt the alcohol soaked bandages start to do their job and the white material start to get stained red. "Dammit!" he gritted out and Naruto put a bottle to his lips and encouraged him to take a large gulp and surprised the Hyuga when he felt the burn of whisky slide down his throat.  
"It helps with wounds and I've found that when treating someone it helps distracted them from the pain" Naruto said as he stared out of the cave for Tenten. "Do you have the scroll?"  
Neji nodded and with a shaking hand held out the scroll to his commander who quickly put the scroll in his pouch.  
"I almost failed, he almost got the document" Neji muttered while taking another swig of whiskey as his wound flared in so much pain his eyes glazed over in tears.  
"But he didn't get it did he" Neji looked over in shock and saw Naruto sitting with his back to the rain at the very edge of the cave getting thoroughly soaked as he gave Neji a reassuring smile "You did good Neji, I couldn't have asked for a better ninja watching my back you were level headed and reacted well, now get some rest, I'll take watch who knows maybe Tenten will turn up soon"  
Flashback_

Kidomaru snorted and then let himself descend until he was right in front of Neji with a crazed grin on his face "Please that kids hands are so blood stained that they won't ever be clean and you know it" Neji glared at the man but didn't speak "You've seen the way he acts he's less human then all the rest of us, watching him on the battlefield has enabled me to see what he's really like underneath and truthfully, it scared even me"  
Neji glared at the floor and then dodged another Kunai before looking straight into Kidomaru's eyes and spoke lowly "Naruto may be able to fight and kill without any worries but have you watched him outside of the battle, because I've watched him go from master killed to the most gentle care giver I've met so don't tell that you know him" Kidomaru glowered and then jumped back to the spider and then tapped it one on the back making it scream and release more of its tiny baby's making Neji use his signature move once more.  
Kidomaru cursed mark activated and swirling lines covered his body as his eyes took on an even more crazed look. "I will figure out how to destroy you're ultimate defence, even Gaara's had a weak point" Neji winced at the reference to the crazed sand ninja. "So let's go again shall we?" he said as the spiders dropped its baby's once more.  
Neji took a deep breath and shifted his stance a small bit which was a move that was notice by Kidomaru "8 Trigrams...128 palms" Neji shouted and then he begun to strike "2 palms, 4 palms, 8 palms, 16 palms, 32 palms, 64 palms, 128 palms" Kidomaru stared in awe at the amount of spiders the young boy had killed, but this time he readied several of his special kunai and watched closely as the boy started to kill the next lot of spiders and then let his kunai fly.  
_'Come on one has to get through" _Kidomaru thought as he saw five of his Kunai hit the floor but when Neji turned around Kidomaru smirked as he saw one of his brown kunai lodged in the middle of the Hyuga's neck. "Gotcha" Kidomaru whispered and then whistled making his spider fall down and attack the Hyuga only to be pierced by the boy's chakra jabs and disappear in a puff of smoke, but for Kidomaru it was all the distraction he needed and in a mere fraction of a second he released several more kunai closer together.

Neji panted harshly and winced when the kunai in his back started to sting when suddenly he cried out in pain when two more Kunai lodged themselves into his back _'he's found by weak spot' _Neji thought as he reached back and ripped the large kunai from his back and begun to run through the forest desperate for something to hit him.  
Kidomaru laughed and allowed the second stage cursed mark to take over his body making his appearance turn even more spider like then it was. "You can't get away now that I know you're little secret" Kidomaru cackled before he spat out a large bow and began forming a deadly looking arrow to go with it.

Neji panted as he rested against a tree and then froze when he heard a whistling through the air and only just jumped in time to avoid the full blow of a deadly looking arrow that lodged itself into the tree where Neji was resting but looking down Neji saw that he didn't get of scot free and now had a deadly gash on the side of his midriff. So taking a deep breath Neji continued to run when suddenly something Naruto had told him on their second mission hit him.

_Flashback  
The moon shone brightly as their small team took cover in a beautiful forest, earlier that day the team had been given their package and Naruto had single handily defended the team from a rouge ninja that he had killed even thought nether Neji or Tenten had sensed him there. Neji stared over at Naruto who was sitting in a tree branch for watch and then jumped up to sit next to the blonde and cleared his throat a little.  
Naruto smirked a little and gave Neji an amused glance "Yes Neji?"_

_The Hyuga looked up at the moon to try to see what was captivating Naruto so much but then gave up after a few moments "How'd you know that made was coming even though I couldn't even see him with my Byukugan?"  
Naruto tapped his ear and then his nose before thumping his heart. "Neji we are some of the most amazing creatures on the planet, we don't have to rely on just our sight, take Kiba's family for example they don't rely on their scent like every other family but instead rely on their smell, I use my other senses when I'm out in battle, my hearing and my smell are one of the main reasons that I'm still alive today" Neji stared at Naruto in shock and looked at Naruto's Pentingan eye which still made him a little scared even at this moment. _

"_But what about you're final sense you showed me three?" Neji asked and Naruto smiled widely  
"I use my instincts a lot as well, I know it must sound stupid but I'm not Shikamaru who can create full proof plans in mere seconds I go with what my gut is telling me and if it's telling me that something bad is about to happen then I listen to it, maybe you should give it a try" Naruto said clapping Neji on the shoulder before resuming his watch.  
Flashback_

Neji held a hand to his wound and then grimaced as he realized what he would have to do and then stopped near a tree and just waited and waited when he heard the subtle whistling of a arrow flying through the air and just at the right moment he spun around and the arrow went straight through his chest just above the heart missing it my mere centimetres and through the back of the tree. When Neji heard the muffle scream of excitement from Kidomaru he smirked and held a hand to the string that was attached to the arrow and then ran his chakra up the sting all the way when suddenly the scream became a gurgle and Neji gave a sigh of release when the string became lax and he quickly cut it with his chakra and then fell to the floor making his headband fall from it place and stared up at the descending sun. "Naruto...you're right" he whispered as his eyes closed and his hair slipped across his face.

**"KIT I FEAR SOMETHING BAD HAS HAPPENED TO THE YOUNG HYUGA" **Kyuubi said in a fearful voice making Naruto search out with chakra and then stopped and gripped his chest when he felt Neji's fade away to nothing.  
"Shikamaru...Neji won" Naruto whispered but didn't say anything and the shadow user swore and ran a hand down his face and then looked at Naruto who was now leaking a dangerous aura. "When I find them I'm going to rip them apart"

Kiba looked over to Naruto and put his hand on the blonde's shoulder and then shook his head "Naruto remember Sasuke is our priority" Naruto glared at the dog user and shrugged his hand off his shoulder and looked Shikamaru in the eyes.

"I swear this to you if you leave Sasuke to me, he won't ever be able to be a ninja ever again I swear it" he spoke in low tones and Shikamaru nodded and then looked at Kiba with a sigh.  
"How close are we?" he asked  
Kiba took a deep breath and then gave a wicked grin "We're close we could attack now and nobody would notice" he said with a wolfish grin.  
"No that wouldn't work" Shikamaru and Kiba looked at Naruto who was shaking his head and then explained "have you guys been trained in nocturnal combat, because I have but if you haven't that plan is totally flawed"  
Shikamaru nodded and Kiba just scratched his head in confusion "How"  
"Think of it this way, yes it's true we would have the element of surprise but seeing as only Naruto has been trained to fight in the pitch black with zero visibility the only one of us who would be any help at all would be Naruto and I think Naruto would be a little distracted about how we were doing and would come to help us therefore losing us the element of surprise" Kiba nodded and sighed before shrugging at Shikamaru.  
"So what do we do?"  
Shikamaru smiled and the motioned for both of his teammates to come forward and then explained his plan to them.

Gai rushed into the Hokage's office and Tsunade smiled up at the frantic ninja and motioned for him to sit "Ah Gai you're back how was the mission?"  
Gai refused to answer but instead started to cry "DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT HOW WAS LEE'S SURGERY?" He yelled in an effort to make sure the Hokage heard him.  
Tsunade blinked twice before smiling warmly and motioned for the upset Jonin to follow her. "The surgery was a complete success Lee should be back on his feet in a few weeks" Tsunade said and then winced when she heard Gai begin to cry in happiness while shouting the joys of youth to the whole hospital.  
"LADY TSUNADE THERE'S AN EMERGANCY" the blonde Hokage looked around and saw one of Lee's nurses rushing towards her with a panic looking face.  
"What is it" The Hokage asked in a calm voice-which was very rare.  
The nurse gulped and then took a deep breath "It's Lee, he's gone"  
Tsunade's eyes widened and Gai just begun to cry a little more and the two of them rushed towards Lee's bedroom and then the Hokage took large calming breaths as her anger threatened to overtake her when she looked at the empty bed and wardrobe before her. "Lady Hokage?"

The blonde whipped around and saw three figures in the door way and smiled "Ah you came very quickly didn't you?"  
The middle figure nodded "We Owe Naruto Uzumaki a lot anything we can do to repay him is nothing compared to what he did for us"  
Tsunade nodded and then cocked an eyebrow "Well then you wouldn't mind being back up for him would you?"

The three figures nodded and Tsunade smiled and walked towards the figures happily, putting Lee's disappearance to the back of her mind.

Kiba stared at Sakon for a moment and then took a deep breath and let out a howl that would have made his mothers Kodamaru proud. The sickly looking man jumped making Tayuya glare at him and then go back to scanning the forest. Naruto smiled and then gathered his breath in his throat before closing it off making a loud growling noise erupt from his throat right next to the fiery haired girl making her freeze and move closer to Sakon. Shikamaru watched his two teammates scare the two sound ninja into frenzy and he slowly inched his way to the coffin and when Tayuya and Sakon both jumped up when Naruto made a loud crunching sound couples with a snarl by Kiba, the shadow using ninja leapt forward and grabbed the coffin before jumping off.

"Nice one guys" he shouted and Naruto jumped out and use Tayuya as a vault while Kiba jumped on Sakon and then over him as the sun began to slowly rise.  
Shikamaru smirked as his two more feral teammates caught up with him and gave him toothy grins and high fives. But just as they were about to make their escape Naruto saw something out the corner of his eyes headed for Kiba "KIBA BEHIND YOU!" Naruto yelled and the dog Nin only turned in time to catch Sakon and to go tumbling down the large crack in the mountain towards the stream at the bottom.  
Shikamaru saw Naruto's guilt filled eyes and slapped his and the face hard, "Naruto we can't lose focus anymore, we are the last two left, Kiba can take care of himself!"  
"Yeah but who is going to take care of you" Tayuya said from behind them and Naruto felt his anger begin to rise and with it Kyuubi's chakra.  
"You really don't want to mess with me right now ugly" Tayuya was about to say something when suddenly a figure out of nowhere jumped down and picked up the coffin from where Shikamaru had put it down and then jumped over to a nearby branch.  
"Kimmimaro...but you should me dead!" Tayuya said in a fear filled voice.  
The almost white skinned man gave Tayuya a once over before his eyes glued on Naruto "You follow, I wish to see which one of us is stronger" he said before jumping off.  
Naruto let loose a feral growl as he felt Kyuubi's chakra flooded his systems turning his eyes red. Shikamaru watched as Naruto's appearance turned more beastly and he shot off after Kimmimaro with speeds he could only dream of.

"You're friend is dead" Shikamaru sighed and turned as he face Tayuya and cracked his neck  
"I guess that means you and I are gonna dance huh?" 


	19. Sand Allies of Leaf

**Chapter 19-We are Sand Shinobi: Allies of the Leaf**

Kiba pulled himself up from his rocky landed and then checked over Akamaru who merely growled when he saw Sakon pulling himself up with a big smile. Akamaru barked and Kiba nodded while Sakon gave Kiba a once over.  
"hey I like you're coat, it's nice" Kiba bared his fangs and then smirked  
"Really I don't think it'll suit ugly" Sakon's smirk disappeared and his face morphed into a glare "What it's true"  
Sakon leapt and was about to attack when Kiba's foot came up and he kicked him across the field before running through a set of hand signs and placing his hand on Akamaru and grinned "Thank you Naruto" he said and as Akamaru's fur was covered in flames as the pup turned a little more feral.  
Sakon watched this new development with surprise and then cracked his neck happily as the cursed mark spread across his body "So you're actually going to be a little fun are you?" he said and Kiba smirked as he used Man beast mimicry.  
"Oh you have no idea, let's go Akamaru" Kiba said and Akamaru turned into a fiery version of himself and then two of them raced forward.

Sakon tried dodging Kiba and Akamaru's combined attacks but in the end Kiba got behind him and was about to strike him in the back of the neck when a hand came out of the back of his head and gripped his wrist causing his eyes to widen when a head morphed its way out as well, "What did you really think it was going to be that easy" The new twin said in a creepier voice.  
Sakon laughed as He elbowed Akamaru sending him sprawling back into a nearby rock where he turned back into his dog form. "Meet my brother Ukon"  
He said as Kiba was thrown over his shoulder to land next to Akamaru who was snarling while the ground beneath him slowly melted away. "What are you?"  
Sakon smiled as Ukon's head made its way to rest on his neck pushing his left a little. "You see my brother and I are quite close and have the ability to combine our molecular structures together so that we can share one boy, and at any moment I need help Ukon here can move any part of his body out of any part of mine. So you can see you're not just playing with one of me...Your playing with two" Sakon said cackling while Kiba was filled with dread.

Tayuya smirked at Shikamaru who merely groaned as he scratched the back of his head as Naruto disappeared as he raced away from the creepy sick looking guy. "Why do I always have to fight the girl?" He groaned making Tayuya glare at him fiercely.  
"What you think we're weak or something?" she growled out and Shikamaru shook his head and shivered a little  
"Hell no, you girls scare the heck out of me, just look at my mom" he said shivering making Tayuya give him an are-you-for-real look. "What she is scary, you go and spend one day with her and you'll know what I'm talking about"

Tayuya laughed a little and shook her head before she reached into the pouch behind her and pulled out a flute and begun spinning it until she gripped it with one hand, 'You see this one flute...It'll be all I need to beat you" she said and then quickly ran through several hand signs until she slammed her hand on the floor like Shikamaru had seen Naruto do many times before and when the large smoke that accompanied summoning cleared Shikamaru gulped when he saw himself staring at three huge large fighter...things.  
"I'm in a bit of trouble" Shikamaru murmured as he took a small step back.  
Tayuya smirked and lifted her flute to her mouth and then watched as Shikamaru readied himself "Just so you know, no one who has heard this song has lived to tell the tale" she said and Shikamaru couldn't help but roll his eyes.  
"Just great" he groaned as the music filled the forest and the three huge beasts leapt forward and began to attack. _'I have to assess what's happen but I don't have an ear for music at all' _Shikamaru thought swearing.

"_Music is an art form and is sometimes more complex than even the hardest game of Go, it has a story, levels and a complexity not many people can fathom" _Shikamaru's eyes widened as Naruto's words filled his ears.  
_'That's right Naruto is always playing that pipe of his isn't he, oh that's just perfect I can think of someone who can play an instrument and could probably figure out how to beat her, but how does that help me' _Shikamaru thought as Naruto's pipe playing filled his head "God this is so irritating" he shouted as he dodged another attack from the huge brute with the club.

But when Shikamaru looked down he saw the fiery haired girl begin a new verse and as he fingers shifted he noticed how a new monster attack him. _'That's interesting' _he thought as he jumped up and dodged the oncoming attack.  
"Think Shikamaru what did Naruto tell you that day?" Shikamaru hissed to himself but no matter how hard he thought he couldn't think back to the day the blonde had visited him after the sound\sand invasion and had played a bit of music for his family and their deer. "Dammit!"

Tayuya smirked but didn't stop playing as she had to make sure she didn't let Kimmimaro down, she wanted to live to see the next week, and she knew if she let this boy through it wouldn't matter how battered she was or how long she held him back, Kimmimaro would kill her. When Shikamaru dodged another one of her attacks she started to up her tempo and allowed her playing to become more technical so that her summons could become more frenzied in the way they attacked and they fought for her, she would not lose here.

Shikamaru took in a deep breath and looked at the tree summons in front of him and their cocky little summoner behind them and winced, this would not end well. He was tired and he didn't know the first thing about music and the one time he had been taught about music from one of his friends he couldn't remember it. "Geez could this day get worse, Naruto I hope you're doing better than I am"

Kimmimaro placed the coffin that held Sasuke on the grass and stared at Naruto who had followed him silently through the forest until they had reached the clearing they were now in. When the pale man looked Naruto over he couldn't help but smirk when he noticed all the new changes the demon the child held within him had done to his body.  
"Your demon's chakra turns you into a monster did you know that?" Kimmimaro said in a bland voice "oh yes I know all about that Lord Orochimaru told me" he said in an amused tone when he saw the fury leak into Naruto's gaze.  
**"You're merely digging a deeper grave for yourself" **Naruto growled as he let the Kyuubi chakra finally rest at the level of flow that was resting in his systems. **"And trust me...I build deep graves"  
**Kimmimaro merely nodded and then gave Naruto a once over "You are an object of interest for Orochimaru, he told me all about Itachi's obsession with you and how you're the Akatsuki's number one target, and now that I look at you I truly see what they were all so amazed about, you are the perfect blend of ninja and monster, you really are a weapon, one even more efficient than myself" Kimmimaro said in awe as he stared at Naruto's growling form.  
**"Oh trust me, I'm a little more than a weapon" **Naruto snarled and Kimmimaro sighed and then smiled at Naruto who then summoned a wolf made of pure lightning **"Lightning Wolf: Axon, Fusion armour style" **Kimmimaro smiled, he had heard all about this type of fusion armour from Kabuto who had told him that because of the armour this beautiful weapon had been able to rupture three of his internal organs with one attack, so he watched as the wolf disappeared into a sparking aura that enveloped the boy. When the aura had hardened, Naruto was covered head to toe in bright gold armour; on his left wrist were giant claws that were sparking occasionally and where his ears were two wolf ears. On his right palm was a glowing hole that Kimmimaro was fascinated with and like the other armours he had a face mask, then to make him more interesting hanging from his wrists were two shackles.  
"Oh very impressive, you look very...interesting" Kimmimaro said and Naruto merely glared at him and shot forward with a burst of lightning and then scratched down.

When the attack connected Naruto was shocked when he felt the bones he had just sliced through quickly mend themselves. Kimmimaro smiled and then pulled out a bone from his shoulder and held it out to Naruto and smirked "This is my Bloodline. I am able to make my bones as dense as I want and then whenever I want I can make new bones as I see fit"

"**KIT HE'S FROM THE KAYUGA CLAN!" **Kyuubi snarled and beat against the bars of his cage making Naruto roar and beastly roar in anger making Kimmimaro grin happily.

"Now that we've been introduced shall we begin?" Naruto snarled and the two of them locked in a heated battle, his claw against Kimmimaro bone blade. But then Naruto snarled and used the move he had used on Mizuki in the genin exam and kicked the sound ninja right in the chin sending him sprawling onto his back where he quickly flipped onto his feet. "Kabuto was right to tell me about you, you're an interesting one" the sound ninja said as he re set his jaw.  
Naruto merely glowed once more before his right hand begun to glow and then his eyes became smug and for the first time in a while Kimmimaro got scared **"Volt Cannon" **He's static like voice said and suddenly a huge golden white beam fired from his hand and Kimmimaro only just missed getting hit full on but when his left arm was hit he felt all the nerves in that arm being ripped the pieces. "That is impressive, but it makes no difference my bones can help protect me from anything you throw at me"  
Naruto snorted and leapt at him again and then slashed down with his claw sending three sparking arcs towards them. **"Tri Spark" **Naruto growled and Kimmimaro cut through one of the arcs only to be hit by the other two.  
Staring at Naruto Kimmimaro looked at his armour and knew that it had to go and soon, so with a leap he met Naruto in the air and then shot a bone at the boy's shoulder making it crack and made Naruto bury his claw into his shoulder and let loose a wave of lightning to course through his body. When the two of them bounced apart Kimmimaro stared as the small dent in the armour begun to crack and a small spider web crack began to appear on a small part of his shoulder with small pieces falling out.  
"You're armour is quite resistant" Kimmimaro said "Although I'd expect nothing but the best from an A Ranked almost S Ranked Jut-su" Naruto glared Kimmimaro and the bone user just laughed "What you didn't think I didn't recognize those Jut-su, the fusion armours are one of the hardest jut-su's to master because it affects the body so much"  
**"Has anyone ever told you, that you're annoying?" **Naruto asked and was then caught in the shoulder by a bone fired by Kimmimaro's hand. **"Ouch"  
**"Shall we get serious then?" Kimmimaro asked and Naruto just groaned and pulled himself up as more of his armour cracked and fell.

Sakon and Ukon grinned at Kiba who was staring from each one of them and just gulped in fear making the twins laugh once again. "Oh look brother he's scared" Ukon cackling happily making Sakon grinned and nod with his twin.  
Kiba suddenly smirked and threw a smoke bomb and quickly hid behind a rock as he figured out what he had to do. It was obvious that he could beat this guy without so great force, but he had already used a lot of his chakra and power when he had fused Akamaru with the fire, he still didn't know why he did that, it was obvious that he still hadn't mastered it and what's worse is he used so much chakra on it to make sure that he succeeded and did well.  
"Come out, Come Out wherever you are, you damn mutt" Kiba's eyes flew opened as he remembered getting teased as a kid by that exact name, it had hurt like hell "Your pathetic, you belong in the dirt hell even you're pup is better than you, you're just a damn mutt" Kiba curled in on himself as he listened to the teasing and Akamaru nudged him comfortingly but it wasn't enough Kiba was lost in his own little world.  
_"I don't think you're a mutt, I rather like you" _Kiba suddenly froze when Naruto's voiced filled his head and the memory came rushing back to him.

_Flashback_

_Kiba punched the next kid in the face and then received a kick to the stomach from his friend all this had started when the kids had ganged up on the Inuzuka heir and had begun calling him a stray dog and a mutt and even runt. Which in his family were all insults and they knew it too, they'd known ever since they had first said the words and gotten such a reaction out of him. _

"_What you going to do know huh you worthless mutt!" The boy he had punched in the face said sneering and just when the Inuzuka was about to lunged at him again a deep growling almost animalistic sound filled the air and the boy turned around slowly and met the eyes of the new kid Naruto Uzumaki who then grabbed the boy by the throat and pulled him close.  
"I_ _would be nice to him, this is Kiba Inuzuka, he is an heir to one of the most_ _honoured clans of Konoha and here I find you disrespecting him, if anyone is a Mutt it'd be you a person with a ninja and a civilian for a parent" Kiba stared at Naruto in awe and saw all the boys who had been fighting with him only mere moments before were now nodding and gulping.  
Naruto locked eyes with the head bully once more and then punch him in the stomach: Hard. "Now get out of here" he hissed  
The bullies scampered away and Kiba pulled himself of the ground and dusted himself of, even at the age of ten he has his clan's respect to hold up so with a bright grin he held out his hand for the blonde to shake. "Hi I'm Kiba Inuzuka, but you already know that, thanks' for what you did with the guys" _   
_Naruto smiled and shook his hand "I don't know what those guys were saying I don't think you're a mutt I rather like you" Naruto said and suddenly a piercing whistle filled the air and a rat face ANBU officer was standing at the edge of the tree. "Oh I got to go, see you tomorrow?" Naruto asked and all he could do is nod as the blonde gave him a large grin and ran off to the ANBU guard who merely transported him away.  
"He actually likes me" Kiba whispered as he walked home slowly, finally someone who wasn't afraid by his wolfish appearance, and now that he had that friend he wouldn't let him go. _  
_Flashback  
_

Kiba took a deep breath and then opened his eyes and gave Akamaru a small smile and then patted him on the head softly. When Sakon and Ukon's joint voices flowed through the rocky valley Kiba froze again and Akamaru barked a few times and Kiba looked at him almost as if he was crazy "Are you insane Akamaru using that Jut-su while you're in this state would be a suicide move"

Akamaru growled once before leaping and biting down on Kiba's hand making his master stare at him in shock. Kiba stared into Akamaru's now fire red eyes and then looked up to where Sakon and Ukon were now standing and then sighed. "I must be a pretty bad master for you to have bitten me so easily like that"  
Akamaru growled once more and Kiba stroke the puppy on his head once before grinning wolfishly "Let's go crazy" he growled before letting out a deep throated snarl that Akamaru echoed.  
Sakon spun around when he heard the two snarls and then saw a hunched over Kiba with his fangs bared and a deep growling sound rumbling in his chest perched on one of the rocks just glaring at him "Ah Ukon I think I found our little puppy" Ukon turned his own head and saw Kiba and then grinned.  
"Aw the little mutt thinks' he's scary well he has another thing coming" Ukon said and then Kiba launched himself forward and punched the double headed man in the face causing him to stumble but then without him even thinking he got a swift punch to his chin knocking his hood off and then an even stronger punch to his stomach. Ukon laughed while Sakon sniggered, but Kiba just smiled and then gripped the arm still in position to punch him and then whistled "You turn Akamaru" he called out and the little puppy jumped up and then spun in the air while marking the twins with his pee making them cry out in disgust.  
Kiba smiled and then wrenched himself from their grip and then jumped up the rock he had been previously perched on and then smiled when Akamaru landed on his head and then took a deep calming breath "Man beast transformation" Sakon and Ukon stopped rubbing at their eyes just in time to see the smoke clear and to see a huge two headed white wolf snarling at them, "Two Headed Wolf" Kiba's snarling voice called out.  
Ukon gulped when he saw the snarling head of Akamaru who still held it's fiery traits why Kiba's own head was drooling making his brother laugh "You just transformed yourself into a giant drooling mutt" the brother called out as the second stage cursed mark took over their bodies turning them into horned monsters.  
"Yeah well let's see how you go against this mutt" Kiba snarled.

Shikamaru gasped for air as he once again had to dodge one of Tayuya's monstrous creatures she had summoned. He hadn't made a single move against the red head simply because he couldn't. He still hadn't gotten a good plan worked out simply because he had no idea what to do. To make things even more frustrating he still hadn't remembered a single thing about the time Naruto had explained how music worked during the battlefield. "Damn this is so frustrating I can't remember with her constantly hunting me down" Shikamaru groaned and then jumped away from the club of the biggest of the red heads summons. But when he hid himself in the forest Tayuya took a breath and had suddenly stopped playing.  
"You've done well to survive up until now but just so you know this is where you die" Shikamaru groaned and then listened carefully as the sound on the song that she begun to play got fast and a weird ghost like fog was spewed out of each on the monster's mouths making them look even uglier. But suddenly one of them appeared in front of him and as he jumped away the mouth clamped down on his hand and when it ripped itself away Shikamaru gasped when he saw a blue like shadow of his hand get ripped away as well.  
"They eat my chakra!" Shikamaru exclaimed and then took cover in a nearby tree and clutched his hand that didn't have a scratch on it from the bite and then looked out at the three monsters and almost cried in frustration. But when a different kind of song filled his ears Shikamaru suddenly remembered everything when Naruto had explained Musical Jut-sus and just plain music to him.

_Flashback  
Shikamaru groaned as Iruka finally finished his lecture on the history of Konoha as the bell for recess echoed throughout the halls. When most of the students had left the room to go play outside the shadow user just settled back and got ready to go back to sleep, he was so happy this was his last year at the academy but was also nervous about becoming a genin. The cloud watcher shook away the negative thoughts and then was about to settle into a peaceful sleep when a beautiful melody filled the air. When he open an eye Shikamaru was pleasantly surprised to see that the creator of the music was Naruto playing on a small wooden pipe. _

"_Hey what you doing" he called out to the blonde who immediately stopped playing and gave him a small smile. Shikamaru motioned to the pipe and couldn't help but smile. He couldn't say he hated the blonde at this point he had only spent two full years really getting to know him unlike the full four like he had with the others.  
"I'm playing the pipe I find Music to be quite useful" the blonde said moving over to sit next to the next to the black haired ninja who had raised a sceptical eyebrow "no really it is, in some countries there are ninja who use music as a form of weapon"  
Shikamaru's mouth fell open in shock and then he shook his head in disbelief "but how isn't music just music?"_

_Naruto shook his head and then played a short melody in the air which made Shikamaru chuckle at the childish sound "You see Music is an art form and is sometimes more complex than even the hardest game of Go, it has a story, levels and a complexity not many people can fathom" _

_Shikamaru nodded but still didn't get it "yeah but how does this art translate into a weapon"  
Naruto grinned and then played a melody and suddenly Shikamaru felt his joints lock together before relaxing when Naruto played a different chord. "A person who is a master at a certain instrument can make a person paralysed if the play the right song, other tunes coupled by the right chakra can control certain objects, a summon a weapon a person, some can cast Gen jut-su some summon jut-su but normally to do any of these things they have to be very good not only at chakra control but also must know how to play the chosen instrument so well that they can switch chords without missing a beat"  
Shikamaru gulped and imagine someone controlling one of his family's stags to go a rampage "So how do you fight something like sound?"  
Naruto grinned sadly but the shrugged "The only way to beat a musical route is to figure out what chords they are playing and in what sequence they are playing them in, then you can find out what chord does what and then react accordingly, but the best way to defeat someone with a musical ability: Is to make them reveal their trump card so you can see what you're dealing with and then catch them when they least expect it"  
Shikamaru smiled and then closed his eyes and then shrugged "cool, although it's not like I'll be fighting anyone with that kind of ability any time soon" _

_Naruto gave a soft chuckle and then nodded "Hey how about some music" Shikamaru said opening one eye and fixed the blonde with a lazy stare and then smiled when the blonde nodded and then begun to play a lazy but happy tune: a song that suited him perfectly.  
Flashback_

Shikamaru's eyes flew open and he grinned "Thanks' buddy" he said and sent a silent prayer to Naruto before he closed his eyes and sorted through all the different chords the red head had played up until this point.

'_Okay this ghost thing is most defiantly her trump card which means: time to start planning' _Shikamaru thought as he scanned his surroundings and then smiled as he noticed how high the sun was and how much shadow all the trees were creating. "Gotcha" He whispered and then jumped out into the open and smiled at the girl who just stared back in confusion.  
"Check" Shikamaru said and the girl smirked and made her summons fly towards Shikamaru only to have them freeze up on her "Mate" the shadow user said in a smirking tone as Tayuya could see a line of shadow connecting to her feet as well as her three summons "Shadow Possession Jut-su complete"  
Tayuya glared as her flute was forced from her lips as she forcefully mimicked her opponent "What is this!" She spat as her cursed mark begun to grow into its second stage slowly.  
Shikamaru didn't even flinch as his opponent changed form into a three horn dark brown skinned monster "You're now totally under my control and so are you're little friends over here"

Tayuya glared at the Shadow user who openly mocked her and grit her teeth against her anger as Shikamaru forced her to cross her arms and just stare at him "if it's the last thing I do you rat I will destroy you" she spat thankful she could still hurl insults at him.  
"Oh I can't wait lady believe it or not I actually like to dance"

Kimmimaro groaned as Naruto knocked him back but then smirked as he noticed he had ripped off a large chunk of armour that had connected itself to the younger boy's leg. The problem was the boy was getting more and more powerful by the minute; the demon chakra pumping through the boy was making him heal quicker than the bone user could hurt him.  
Naruto grunted as he landed on the ground and then frowned when he saw the state of his armour; he still had his whole left hand and only the forearm down on his right, half his face mask was missing as well as large chunks of his chest plate had crumbled to bits a little while ago and now his right leg was missing armour from his knee until the start of his specially designed boots, his armour wasn't going to last much longer the way he was going but he also knew that as long as one shred of the armour laid on his body he would have the abilities of his lightning wolf at his side. But the problem was the battle between the two of them wasn't getting anywhere, the moment he would hurt the Kyuga his body would just send the right amount of calcium to the wound to fix it and then problem with his own injuries was that now his systems were flooded with Kyuubi's chakra it just so happened that everytime he was attacked he was healed within mere moments of the wound being inflicted.  
"We seemed to have met at a stalemate" Kimmimaro said and then smirked as he looked behind himself and saw the black evil chakra leaking from Sasuke's coffin "and just in time, it seems that you're great friend is about to come say hello"

Naruto snarled deeply and the coffin blew apart revealing a figure that looked nothing like Sasuke. His hair was longer and a weird shade of purple, but Naruto watched in fascination as the hair started to recede back into Sasuke's normal shape and shade. Then an insane laughed erupted from the raven's mouth and Naruto snarled making the boy freeze. Kimmimaro noticed the fear that had reached Sasuke from his old teammates ferocity and jumped until he was resting beside him "Go on I'll take care of this...thing" Naruto let loose another feral snarl and Sasuke gave Kimmimaro a quick nod before jumping into the tree tops while Naruto just stared after him with fury alight in his eyes. "Good now that the brat is gone we can continue" Kimmimaro said unseathing another bone blade as Naruto had crushed the other on between his clawed glove earlier on.  
Naruto let loose a feral snarl and was just about to leap forward and meet Kimmimaro when a green blur rushed in front of him and Kimmimaro went flying across the field, Naruto looked up and saw Lee standing in front of him and couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped him as he stared at Lee with disbelief "Couldn't let us take all the glory could you"

Lee turned to his rival and shot him a sparkling grin and then nodded happily "I'm all healed why shouldn't I help out" Naruto shook his head and shrugged and Lee took this moment to check out Naruto's form. "It seems you're armour is a little worse for wear"  
Naruto looked down and nodded sadly as he saw just how sad and pathetic his armour must have looked at that moment, all chipped and cracked with huge chunks missing in some places "Yeah he really did a number one me" Naruto said as he let the last parts of his armour fall to the ground as he released the jut-su which kept it held to his body where it landed on the ground and then sunk into the ground slightly as the armours weight was affected by gravity.  
Lee noticed this and then turned back to Kimmimaro who seemed to be glaring at him and then stood taller "Was that Sasuke is saw run off a few seconds ago" Naruto made a grunt and Lee sighed in understanding "You go, I got this guy"  
Naruto gave Lee a shocked look and then a sceptical one "what about you're wounds you're surgery couldn't have been more than twelve hours ago are you sure you should be fighting so soon after healing" he asked in a calm voice.  
Lee waved Naruto off and then gave him the thumbs up "Do not worry I have the medicine that Lady Tsunade gave me to help give me a speedy recovery" Naruto shook his head and then bent down and let Kyuubi's flare out and force him to move at speeds that he had never reached before even with all his training.  
Lee sighed and then smiled at Kimmimaro who just gave him a fierce glare "I shall be your opponent from this moment on" he said and Kimmimaro grit his teeth and then faced his new opponent.

Kiba snarled again and then let loose a feral roar making Sakon and Ukon jump out of the way only to have to dodge again when Akamaru let out a red heat wave when he roared. The sound ninja didn't know how to fight such a huge beast that could obviously tear them to shreds with the huge fangs that were protruding from their jaws. To make matters even worse the second head of the wolf had all the same attributes of the jut-su the boy's little pup had been attached with. Sakon bared his teeth and then grunted as the debris of rock from the two headed beast's last attack slammed into him.  
"Damn why won't you just stay still" Sakon roared in frustration and the wolf just made a deep rumbling chuckle and then looked at Sakon with feral eyes.  
Kiba looked at Akamaru who made a huffing noise and the two of them let loose feral roars and Kiba bared his teeth and bent down low making the two headed man in front of him brace himself "Inuzuka style, Fang of Claw" Kiba roared out and just like his fang over fang attack his large wolven body begun spinning at extreme speeds as he sped towards his target.  
Sakon and Ukon only just managed to dodge out of the way, but they were shocked when they felt a large gash appear on the top of their thigh.

"The Drool!" Sakon roared and the huge wolf stopped spinning only to have its second head let loose a jet of flame at the floor turning the roar into an almost magma like ooze.  
Ukon flinched and the two of them jumped again before their feet could get stuck to the melting rock, he didn't know what happened to the Mutt but somehow this new jut-su had made them a lot stronger then he was before. Kiba let out a roar and then begun his attack again only this time the twins didn't have enough time to dodged and Kiba's spinning attack sliced straight through the twin headed body.  
As the stopped and spun around Kiba watched in horror as the two bodies each regrew a new arm and leg and then stared at each other before grinning happily, "brother the mutts got a bit of a bite doesn't he" Sakon said and Kiba closed his eyes and remembered what his mother had told him about the Jut-su he was now using.

_Flashback  
Tsume looked at her son with a serious gaze and then patted Kidomaru who also gave the young Inuzuka a piercing look "This jut-su is the jut-su that made you're father known as the Howling Nightmare"  
Kiba looked at his mother in awe, the older Inuzuka rarely talked about his father who had died only a few months after he was born thanks to the Kyuubi attack and now here she was talking about him and teaching him, his father's signature Jut-su "really it's that strong?"  
Kidomaru laughed and nodded :Young pup, you're father had a range of Jut-su but this one...no one has been able to master it since him"  
Kiba gave the large wolf a long stare before gulping and gave his mother a nervous glance "What is I can't do it?"  
Tsume place a hand on Kiba's shoulders and gave him a kind smile "Listen to me Kiba. You are your fathers son, if anyone can master this jut-su it's you, all I can tell you is what your father told me when I asked him about it" Kiba looked at her mother in anticipation "Trust your partner, he will guide you"_

_Flashback_

Kiba let out a huge snarl which Akamaru followed suit with his own and Kiba nudged the fire wolf's head "Let's really fuse" Akamaru nodded and Kiba winced when he felt the fire encasing Akamaru's chakra system enter his own.  
Ukon took a step back as he noticed the white wolf's fur begin to bristle out an gain a very red like sheen to its coat and then jumped back when flames encased the wolf's paws making him look deadly why a streak of Fire made its way from the back of both the wolves heads and to the base of its tail giving him a weird sort of mane. "Sakon is just me or did fluffy just get a little bigger" Ukon said and Sakon gulped and nodded.  
Kiba roared loudly as the change was complete; his drool was still dripping from his large jaws but now when the large glob of saliva hit the rocky floor the rock begun to melt and turn into a rocky magma as the heat from Kiba's chakra turned his saliva into a acid like magma substance. "You still think you can take me"  
Sakon glared and then started running through several hand signs but Kiba growled and flames licked around his mouth making Ukon's eyes widen "brother!" he screamed  
"Double Flame Howl" Kiba growled out before both he and Akamaru fired two huge fire balls at the twins.  
Ukon was able to jump away in time but Sakon wasn't as lucky and was hit head on with Akamaru's fire ball, making the man scream out in pain. Watching as the steam cleared and his brother was revealed Ukon was flooded with fear for the first time in a long time as he stared at the huge wolf that had steam rising from its two mouths. "I'll kill you for that" he screamed leaping forward.  
"Just try it" Kiba snarled leaping forward to meet Ukon's strike head on, ignoring the scents that assaulted his senses at that moment. 

Shikamaru smirked at the girl in front of him and then lifted his hands up so that he made her hold the flute in the right position much to her horror "Let me explain how I knew what to do"  
Tayuya glared at Shikamaru but let the boy continue as she inwardly smirked as she figured out what she'd have to do. "I followed you're finger patterns why playing the flute, by just watching I figured out which one of your boy's you controlled with what chord, and once I knew that it was easy to lure you into a trap think that you got me"  
Tayuya smirked and then opened her eyes and the three summons all of a sudden disappeared is large explosion of smoke and Shikamaru just stood there glaring at her "What did you actually think I'd let you use my own summons against me?" she said in a mocking voice "Please I know you're type, you analyse and make strategies but you never go with your gut feeling because it might be wrong and god forbid if something doesn't go right, you freeze up and have no idea what to do, that is one of the reasons why the Sound village sees Naruto as such a danger"

Shikamaru looked up at Tayuya and glared at her openly making her laugh happily "Please you thought we just watched him for nothing, oh no we've known about his skills since the finals of the chunnin exam"  
Trying to buy time so that he could rethink his plan Shikamaru grasped onto the conversation "okay if you're so smart how are Naruto and I different"

Tayuya let out a loud laugh and then gave Shikamaru a condescending glance "Please you and Naruto are like water and oil. The first difference is obviously skill, if put in a battle with him I don't think you'd last any longer than a few moments and that's if he wasn't taking you seriously" Shikamaru grit his teeth as the red head's words rung with the truth, the difference between his skills and Naruto's skills was so big the shadow user was surprised that the blonde wasn't a Jonin already "Next is the way you fight: just fighting with you for the last few moments and then comparing it to the way I've seen the blonde brat fight over the last few weeks...I can assure you this much Naruto doesn't hide like a little mouse, he takes his time and quickly assesses the situation before relying on his gut feeling to think up a good way to get him out of the problem he's in, the third difference: Naruto doesn't take mercy on his opponent, I've seen that boy slit the throat of a begging ninja because he was ordered to" Shikamaru shivered and Tayuya smiled when the shadow broke.  
When he felt the connection break Shikamaru jumped away but not in enough time as he soon saw Tayuya with the flute held to her lips once again with a sadistic smirk on her face "let's see how you like to be chained" she said and then begun to play a quick but haunting song.  
Shikamaru was about to retort when he noticed everything was getting dizzy and then he slumped down onto his knees and felt his arms being strung up by two chains hanging from a red sky. "Where am I" he yelled hoarsely and then held back a scream when he felt and saw his left forearm start to melt away. The with a heaving sigh he closed his eyes and ordered his shadow to do something he would have never thought of doing.

Tayuya watched as Shikamaru slumped forward in his invisible chains and then walked towards him with a small smile and picked up a kunai which had fallen out of Shikamaru's pouch and continued to advance on his prone form "You know this battle was actually kind of fun, well for me at least I mean I really didn't even have to do anything you did all the work for me" She said and tapped the shadow user on the underside of the chin with the tip of the kunai.  
But in a flash Tayuya gasped as she felt a hand grab her throat and slam her down to the ground and when she looked up she saw the angry but smug eyes of Shikamaru looking back down at her "but how I had you under my most powerful gen jut-su"  
Shikamaru held up his left hand which was know limp and turning a deep purple "I just followed something Naruto told me: when under an illusion if you don't have the chakra to break it, then the best way break it is to cause the body a large amount of pain...like say crushing your own hand" he said motioning to his useless hand.  
Tayuya was about to say another smug comment when she felt a cold hand slip around her throat that didn't belong to the boy above her "Meet my shadow strangle jut-su, at the moment we are so intertwined that you can't fight against it, you'll have three minutes tops before my shadow crushes you're throat"

Tayuya for the first time since facing Shikamaru began to panic; the shadow boy had never really poised much of a threat but now she was facing death she wasn't so sure. Especially when the boy was about to crush her throat she was beginning to think that taking the boy so easy was a bad idea. But she was Tayuya of the sound Four, she never gave in, so with all the strength she had she forced her hand to move until it was poking Shikamaru uncomfortably in the ribs but what made her cry out in frustration was that she wasn't able to move her hand any further "Looks like we're at a standstill" Shikamaru grunted out as he forced his jut-s to try to finish its job.

Lee looked at Kimmimaro in annoyance as the bone man repelled another one of his attacks, he wasn't as strong as he should be and it was making him frustrated. He had spent too much time resting and now his muscles had become lax, he wasn't as quick or agile anymore, but as long as it was enough for Naruto to get to Sasuke, Lee didn't really care. "Alright time for my medicine" he declared rather loudly shocking Kimmimaro into submission.

Back in Konoha Tsunade sighed as she saw the bottle on the desk next to Lee's bed making Gai who was frantic by her side look at her in fear "What is it Lady Tsunade I can take it"  
Tsunade held up a small ceramic bottle and then shook her head "Lee had been given a small bottle of Medicine to help him recover faster and it looked exactly like this" She said and Gai frowned confused  
"I don't see what the problem is"  
Tsunade side and threw the bottle to Gai who stared at it slack jawed "This is the bottle, Lee took the one containing my Special Sake which I was going to drink tonight to help be relax" she said  
Gai's face twisted in horror and the bottle in his hand dropped and shattered on the floor "A whole bottle of Sake" he whispered and Tsunade nodded making Gai gulp "That is going to end badly"  
"Gai you're not making any sense what are you talking about?" Tsunade asked getting mad at the green clad ninja in front of her, she really didn't see what was so wrong about letting an underage drink, and heck Naruto did it.  
"When Lee drinks...it's not pretty" Gai whispered and Tsunade raised a questioning eyebrow "It was about a year ago, I took my team out to a restaurant to celebrate Lee finally mastering the lotus technique and lee took a sip from my cup which he thought held water, but what he thought was water was actually a special sake they had prepared for me"  
Tsunade saw the horror on the Jonin's face and got confused "and what happened?"

Gai gulped and continued "After just one sip the effects were instantaneous, lee went on a rampage and destroyed everything in fact if it wasn't for Neji being with me I don't think I could have stopped him"  
"Come on Gai you're a Tai Jut-su Master I'm sure you're student couldn't have gotten the drop on you" Tsunade said scoffing.  
"True but I didn't wish to hurt Lee, and it was at that day that I learnt something very interesting about my student" Gai said and Tsunade gave him a expectant look making him gulp "Lee is a natural born master of...THE DRUNKEN FIST!"

Lee quickly pulled out the small ceramic bottle and popped the rubber stopper and gulped the whole thing down under the curious and shocked eyes of Kimmimaro who was looking at Lee like he was crazy. Once he was finished Lee made a grossed out face when he felt everything go hazy. "Whys everything so 'hiccup' so fuzzy" He mumbled as he stumbled around confusing Kimmimaro even further.  
"What was that he just drank" Kimmimaro said as he watched Lee hold his hands up while swaying on the spot.  
"What "hic' you loo'hic'king at you 'hic' creep" Lee said loudly and Kimmimaro just stared at him in shock, "Come on 'hic' let's go 'hic" Lee shouted before he disappeared in a blur and engaged Kimmimaro in a fight.  
Confused by Lee's sudden attacks and new found aggressive behaviour all Kimmimaro could think of doing at that stage was deflecting the blows as quick as he could so that he might be able to attack as well. When he saw an opening he took it straight away and kicked the green clad boy across the field where he stayed, Kimmimaro waited for something from the boy when he heard a light snoring sound. Smirking The Bone User walked over to Lee and raised his blade "Goodbye" he said and then brought the blade down.

Fire hurt. That was what Sakon had summarised from when Akamaru's attack had hit him head on, it hurt a lot and the effects lingered long after the attack vanished. As he opened his eyes he was shocked to see his brother trapped under the huge wolf's paw as blood dripped from the second wolf head's jaw. The first head's mouth was glowing orange and immediately noticing that his brother was in trouble Sakon begun running through hand signs and luckily finished them just as the flames was about to erupt from the white wolf's mouth. "Ice Spike Jut-su"  
Kiba whipped around at the sound of Sakon's voice and then let out a howl of pain as he felt a huge spike rip open his stomach. Sakon cursed when he missed the heart but was happy when the two headed wolf ran into the deep water and began to race away. "Brother Get up we have a mutt to kill" Sakon panted as the second stage Cursed mark receded. Ukon who was now sporting several burns and gashed nodded as his own cursed mark receded so that he was standing by his brother who's whole face was sporting deep burns and would most likely scare something terrible and considering the blood weeping out of the cracking skin that would be a painful experience.  
Kiba leant against the stone wall and whimpered as pain flared up his side again, he was lucky that the jut-su was still holding considering the amount of pain that he was in. Sparing a glance over to Akamaru's head he winced when he saw more blood drip from his head, Ukon had decided that Akamaru deserved to suffer for what he'd done to his brother and had ripped two of Akamaru's fangs out but Kiba had gotten him with his claws and if Ukon survived his back would never be smooth again. Pulling his bruised and batter canine body Kiba initiated the part of the Jut-su he wasn't look forward at all, unfusing with Akamaru but keeping his lupin form. Taking a deep breath he pushed Akamaru's spirit from his own but clutched the lupin spirit in his body and was happy when he felt himself shrinking but not losing his wolven features. When the transformation was complete he was still a white wolf but now he was more like Kodamaru's size. Akamaru whimpered from his perch on top of his back and Kiba winced and began walking slowly in the water to hide his scent so that he wouldn't he found. But as the wind blew past him he froze as three familiar scents blew towards him _'no way what are they doing here' _He said and then picked up his pace only a little so that he made small ripples but no sound.

"Have to take it slow my wound trails blood" Kiba growled softly and then looked back ad Akamaru who was breathing faintly. "Don't worry buddy I'll protect you" he growled and when he saw a nearby bank he jumped up on it and began racing silently through the foliage not even thinking about the blood trail he was leaving he was leaving behind, all he knew was that now things had gotten even worse and from how limp Akamaru was feeling on his back he was starting to panic. "Damn it!" Kiba swore as he smelt Sakon and then ran back to the rive and leapt in silently and begun swimming in the deeper part o the lake keeping only Akamaru and his nose above the water so that he couldn't be detected. _'Please don't find us' _Kiba thought as his body begun to weaken from the blood loss. After swimming for a few moments Kiba saw a bank and from the fire he felt in his legs he knew he'd have to cut his losses and got rest before he killed himself. So battered, bruised, bleeding and wet Kiba climbed up on the bank and slowly walked through the forest until he reach a nearby tree where he laid down and pulled Akamaru close to him. When he looked own he whimpered as he saw the huge almost black blood stain on his side. Kiba huffed a breath as he noticed he was too tired to change back into a human, so with a tired whine he curled up next to Akamaru who whimpered softly _  
"Dad am I like you now, is this how you died?"_ Kiba thought as laid his head down and just made a snorting sound when he smelt Sakon and Ukon only a few meters away. When the two twins walked out and saw Kiba and Akamaru laying down they smirked and Sakon pulled out a Kunai and brandished it happily.  
"Well mutt it was fun while it lasted and I'll tell you this much, you were a better opponent than what I thought you were going to be, but now you are exactly where you were going to be from the beginning at my feet starring death in the face" Kiba growled and leapt up and caught Sakon's throat in his jaws and then laid down with the gurgling brother as he struggled against his vice grip. Ukon cried out as Kiba killed his brother and as the crazed brother walked towards him with a Kunai all Kiba could think was, _"at least I killed one of them right Naruto" _

Shikamaru coughed out a small amount of blood and glared down at the girl who was having to take short breaths to get any air into her lungs. A few seconds ago when his focus had slipped she had been able to slide her hand a little further forward and the kunai had slide through his second and third rib, so now it felt like his side was on fire, couple that with the numbing pain that his hand was forcing him to feel, he was very close to being on the verge of fainting from pain.  
"Give...up...you can't...win" Tayuya wheezed through her teeth and then gulped down as much air as the shadow hand started to tighten its grip once again.  
"Sorry, I can't give up, Naruto's depending on me" Shikamaru groaned as he pushed his chakra even further until the shadow hand was clutching her throat and she was really gasping for air "and you killing me wasn't a part of my plan" Shikamaru gasped as her kunai went deeper in his ribs "At least not unless I can take you with me"

Just as the blade was about to hit Lee he flipped on his side, Kimmimaro grimaced in annoyance and struck again only to have the boy flip over again and have him miss him. "Stay still" Kimmimaro hissed and then didn't see the foot that connected with his jaw and send him flying back.  
"What are you trying to do, I was trying to sleep, now for that I'm gonna beat 'hic' you to 'hic' a pulp" Lee demanded and rushed forward and begun his assault once again making Kimmimaro grit his teeth in annoyance.  
One minute the boy was fighting him like some kind of maniac and then he falls asleep and then decides that he wants to fight again, it was humiliating. Once an opening presenting itself he went to hit him only to have the boy do a perfect back bend and then kick him straight in the chest.  
"Come on 'hic' hit me 'hic' what you too scared 'hic'" lee said and then jumped back up and was about to strike him again When Kimmimaro hit him in the stomach sending flying against a rock banging his head against it hard.  
"I've had enough of your antics I will kill you now" Kimmimaro said in a slightly crazed voice.  
Lee rubbed the back of his head and winced as he saw the blood dripping from his fingers "ow what happened?" He whispered not watching as Kimmimaro was stalking towards him with his blade poised to strike.  
"NOW DIE!"

Kiba didn't even blink as the strike didn't hit him, but instead hit a wooden puppet. In his wolven form all he could do is lie down as the pain from the large gash in his stomach. The blood staining his muzzle filled his nose and made him want to gag but it also helped tie him into conscious so that when he felt the form leap down by his side he was able to bark softly to acknowledge him. Kankuro gave Kiba a quick glance and winced at the blood covering his side, he had heard from Tsunade that the Inuzuka might be in a wolven form, but seeing the Konoha headband resting against the wolf's upper arm just confirmed his suspicions, the white wolf who was on the verge of dying was Kiba Inuzuka: one of the ninja he was assigned to bring back.  
"You alright Kiba" He asked the white wolf although he could tell that the boy wasn't considering that he was so tired he couldn't even dispel his jut-su "just lie back and let me take care of him" Kankuro said but was shocked when he saw Kiba standing next to him his muzzle nudging his elbow. "Well alright" he said nodding.  
Kiba snarled at Ukon who started laughing hysterically and then pointed at Kankuro "And who might you be"  
"I'm a Shinobi of the Sand: I'm Kankuro the Puppet Master" he said in a deadly voice and Kiba snarled deeply baring his teeth, and Kankuro knew immediately what he was saying "You will have the final blow"  
Kiba growled deeply and Kankuro let the crow fly and tried to ignore the deep irony smell of blood which was surrounding the wolf. Ukon dodged the puppet and then threw the Kunai which hit Kankuro square on the shoulder sending him flying back but the crow forward, Kankuro quickly made his puppet wrap around the sound ninja in a crushing grip "Kiba now" he panted and Kiba wasted no time and launched forward.  
Ukon scream was cut short as he met the same death as his brother had only mere moments ago. Kankuro had to look away as Kiba ripped Ukon's throat out and then ran forward and caught the wolf when he collapsed as all the strength left his body. "Whoa there" Kankuro whispered and when he felt his hands come away wet he lifted one of them and was alarmed when he saw his hand was stained red. "What happened to you" he whispered and was amount to jump off when Kiba nudged him away and walked back to the tree he had been lying at and fell at the base and nudged a small white ball making it whimper slightly and then it all clicked "That's right you fight with a partner don't you" He said picking the tiny shivering puppy up and placed it on his head before picking up Kiba's sagging lupin body "Don't worry I'll get you back to the village in no time" he said jumping off.

Shikamaru grit him teeth and actually pushed down on the kunai making his shadow wrap around her throat further, but because of the pain flashing through his sensors the shadow user didn't see the one handed hand signs the red head was doing. But just before she was about to activate her suicide Jut-su a large gust of wind blasted her away leaving Shikamaru gasping for air as he pulled the kunai that had been buried to the hilt out of his ribs. Temari landed in front of him and gave him a quick looked before flaring her fan out behind her in an attempt to intimidate the girl who was glaring at her "who the hell are you!" Tayuya spat  
Temari snorted and then gave Shikamaru a long glance before turning back to the girl with a smirk on her face "I'm Temari, and I'm a ally of the Leaf" Shikamaru's eyes widened and he stood up shocking the wind mistress who thought the shadow user had been down for the rest of the battle.  
"I never would have thought Lady Tsunade would send you to come get us" He said holding a hand to his wound to stem to blood flow as he stood next to his rival.  
"yeah well as soon as she said Naruto Uzumaki Gaara was already out of the village" Temari said not giving Shikamaru a second glance, she couldn't or she would fuss over his wound and she couldn't do that not at that very moment.  
The shadow user held up his left hand and Temari looked away when she was the yellow and purple bruising that covered his hand "broke it" she asked in a clam voice  
"Nope crushed it" Temari gave Shikamaru a look of disbelief and then turned back to the girl and then smirked when she heard Shikamaru's last words "Look I know she's a girl but I want the final strike, I'm just going to need your help"  
Temari gave the shadow user a small smile and then a wink "what no more giving up" Shikamaru shook his head and the wind mistress nodded and the closed her eyes and quickly brandished her fan "Wind scythe Jut-su" she shouted and sent the girl flying back with the force of her attack and gave the shadow boy and expectant look.  
What she wasn't expecting was him to link their hands so that they could complete a range of seals together "I said I needed your help" Shikamaru said as the landed on the boar symbol "Shadow Claw Jut-su" Shikamaru said as his right hand was enveloped by a huge shadowy claw which seemed to be glowing black in the sun light.  
Tayuya looked up as a shadow over fell her and then gasped when Shikamaru jumped off the sand shinobis fan and struck her through the chest with a huge black claw making her cough up blood. "What?" she said in confusion.  
Shikamaru wrenched his claw from her chest and shook his head "I told you, you killing me wasn't part of the plan"

Temari dropped down next to him and took a look at him stab wound and winced "Come on let's get you back to the village" she said putting him arm around her shoulder as she lead them back to the village.

Lee snapped his eyes shut as he prepared himself for the worst, but after a few minutes when no pain came he opened one eye just a crack and stared in shock. The blade that was about to strike him had been stopped by a wall of sand and Lee only knew one ninja who used Sand In that way, and the last time he'd really seen him he had been on the receiving end of a very painful attack. But when the Leaf genin looked over his shoulder he had to stifle a gasp when he saw Gaara standing behind him silently.  
"Who are you" Kimmimaro asked in cold voice making the crimson haired teen look up.  
"I am Gaara of the Sand" the sand user said in a bland voice and then took a step in front of Lee and pushed him back with his sand at the same time "and I'm here as a debt to a very dear person"  
Lee smiled when he realized Gaara was talking about Naruto and then nodded "Very well, you may take over I fear my limbs aren't what they used to be" he admitted softly.  
Gaara nodded and then turned back to Kimmimaro who had activated the first stage of his cursed mark "You're dear friend...he will wither lose himself in the fight against Sasuke or he will die trying to stay innocent" Kimmimaro said firing the top bones from his fingers in a swift move only to have them blocked by Gaara's sand.  
"You have no idea who Naruto Uzumaki is, don't speak of such things unless you know the truth" Gaara grunted and then sent his sand flying until it was wrapped around Kimmimaro "Sand Burial" Kimmimaro winced as his bones broke but then smirked at Gaara who was glaring at him.  
"I can't be killed like the other weaklings you have taken the lives of" Kimmimaro snarled and then forcibly broke the sand coffin and gave Gaara a crazed smile.  
**"LITTLE ONE DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!" **Shukaku roared from inside his mindscape.  
Gaara inwardly shook his head and then begun to run through a long stream of hand signs before clapping him hands together, and Lee stared in shock as a huge wave of sand that didn't seem to end spewed from the ground and swamped over to Kimmimaro who for the first time since meeting Lee got scared. "Sand Tsunami Jut-su!" Gaara growled out and then made two fists and made a turning motion with his hands "Deep sand Burial!" he cried and Lee watched as a huge pulsing wave fanned out through the sand and then cry out in cheer.  
"Yeah you did it, I can't believe it" Lee said and Gaara let out a frustrated growl and shook his head confusing the Tai Jut-su expert.  
"Why doesn't he die?" Gaara groaned in frustration and glared when a disfigured and bony figure gasped to the surface.  
"You can't kill me, Lord Orochimaru's will lives on in me" Kimmimaro screamed crazily as he activated his second stage cursed mark.  
But unlike the others Gaara didn't allow the transformation to complete and instead formed a giant sand spear in his hand "Shukaku Grand Spear" He shouted and then threw the spear straight at the bone user and then looked away when Kimmimaro stalled and looked at the giant spear that had gone straight through his chest.  
"You won?" Kimmimaro gasped and then fell to the floor and gasped his last breath and Lee looked at Gaara who just sighed and turned away from the dead ninja.  
"Let's go, you need rest" Gaara said not turning back.  
Lee looked in the direction Naruto had gone off in and then bit his lip "What about Naruto won't he need our help"  
Gaara stalled and then shook his head "No Naruto may need help but we aren't the ones he needs, he needs to do this on his own" Lee nodded and then the two ninja walked side by side back towards the leaf village.  
_'Come back safely Naruto, May the gods watch over you' _Gaara thought as he spared one glance back in the direction Naruto must have raced after Sasuke in. 


	20. I'm Leaving Because I Love You

**Chapter 20-I'm leaving you because I Love You.  
**

Sasuke stood on the stone head of his ancestor the greatest Uchiha that had ever lived: Madara Uchiha and just stared out at the land of Rice Paddies and then looked back at the land Of Fire. He knew who was coming for him, and he knew that they would fight: it was destiny, the two of them fighting at the same Valley where his ancestor and the First Hokage had fought all those years ago. The thought of fighting the one who had become so very precious to him, scared him a little but then he'd remember Itachi and couldn't help the fury that filled him.

"Sasuke" The raven turned around and gave Naruto a look of amusement "I'm here to take you back"  
Sasuke laughed and shook his head and put his hands on his hips "Naruto you and I both know that I'm not going back quietly, if you want me to go back so much...you're gonna have to force me" he said giving Naruto a searching look.  
Naruto sighed and ripped off his bandage mask and dropped it in the water below and gave Sasuke a sad smile "What did I do Sasuke why do you hate me so much" he asked and Sasuke stalled he could almost forget that the boy in front of him had lied to him and that he was the kind blonde who had killed for him.  
But then he'd remember everything and he just couldn't stop the spark of hatred that welled up inside of him "You lied to me, you made me believe I was close to you when in reality you were light years in front of me"  
Naruto's face morphed into one of Confusion "What do you mean I don't understand"  
Sasuke looked up and gave Naruto a sad smile as well "You really don't get it do you...Kitsune"  
Naruto froze and looked at Sasuke in shock and then lowered his eyes in guilt "I just wanted to be normal I didn't want anyone to think of me as the boy who was raised in ANBU " Naruto said and Sasuke looked away in anger.  
"You know the fact that you hid your real identity from me isn't really what made me made, it's the fact that you made me believe that you were a worthless idiot who like music, when in fact you were a trained killer" Naruto gave Sasuke a shocked look and then clenched his hands and gave Sasuke a cold glare  
"Listen here Sasuke, I was six years old when I joined ANBU but the council didn't want their weapon running around like a powerhouse so up until I joined the academy all I knew was how to use Tai jut-su to my advantage, and yet you got to walk around learning whatever you wanted whenever you wanted, yes I got to killed S classed criminals and the like at a young age but you know what I would have rather to be curled up in my bed, but instead I had nights filled with bloodshed and the screams of others and that will never go away" Naruto growled his patience with his Uchiha friend running out.  
Sasuke glared at Naruto and motioned around him with a smirk "This is our final setting do you like it" Naruto looked around and saw he was at the Valley's End, and then turned his attention back to Sasuke who was smirking "I wanted the perfect setting for our fight, our fight will be even more legendary than the First Hokage's and Madara's, the Demon of the Leaf and the Last True Uchiha survivor fight to the death" Sasuke said his voice getting a crazed tone to it.  
Naruto let out a slight growl and then shook his head "I wanted to spare you from all this bloodshed but in the end you still turned out to be evil just like your rotten ancestor" Naruto said in disgusted voice "if I have to drag you back by your hair Sasuke I will...because I promise Sakura"  
Sasuke glared at Naruto and then leapt at him and punched the blonde straight in the jaw sending him flying towards the water below. But when Naruto flipped and landed in a crouch perfectly atop the water Sasuke clung to the rock wall and smirked at Naruto from below "Show me your true power Naruto I want to see what made Kitsune so famous" Sasuke mocked and then jumped down to hit Naruto again only to have his wrist caught and for him to look deep in two very angry and firey crystal blue eyes.  
Sasuke smirked but then gasped when Naruto brought his knee smashing into his stomach making him loose all his air before punching him hard enough to send him flying to the rocky outcrop. "Sasuke you really shouldn't taunt me" Naruto warned as anger flooded through his veins.  
**"KIT TAKE IT EASY YOU DON'T WANT TO KILL HIM" **Kyuubi said in a calming voice.  
Naruto nodded and then watched as Sasuke landed on the water in front of him with a flourish "So tell me Naruto, you gonna use that eye on me or am I not good enough for it" he mocked his own Sharingan spinning wildly.  
Naruto cocked and eyebrow before closing his eyes and then opening them his right eye spinning wildly "It's only fitting I defeat you with this eye considering that you are the reason I got it" Sasuke grinned and then spat a huge fire ball at Naruto only for a wall of flame to absorb it "Pentingan activate: ancient Fire Path Inferno open" Naruto growled out and then opened his eyes and stared at Sasuke with a feral grin "I think fighting fire with fire is the best way don't you" Naruto said his voice sounding a little more childish but at the same time beast like.  
Sasuke grinned and raced forward to punch his rival only to have Naruto catch him and then grab his throat and grin happily "Ancient fire style: Wildfire Tornado" Naruto said and Sasuke's eyes widened as the air around him grew hot and then like magic fire sprung out of nowhere and began to whip around them in a frenzy "Don't be scared Sasuke I thought you like Fire" Naruto laughed and Sasuke glared and then held up his sparking hand and shoved in straight through his friends chest and pulled the now snarling boy close to him.  
"You aren't that impressive" Sasuke growled out and Naruto then snarled and tightened his grip on Sasuke's throat as Kyuubi's chakra leaked out  
**"Ancient Fire style: Meteor Strike" **Naruto roared and then jumped up.   
Sasuke tried to follow but felt as if he was chained to the water and when he looked down he saw flaming chains had encased his wrists and his ankles making it impossible for him to move. When he looked up he saw Naruto gathering fire in his two hands and then took a deep breath as the fire enveloped his body and took on the form of a huge snarling wolf with shackles on his paws. Before Sasuke could think of a way out of his chains the wolf leapt at him and hit him full on making the Uchiha cry out in pain.

Kakashi stared at Tsunade like she had grown another head and then took in a shaky breath "Please tell me you haven't sent Naruto to deal with Sasuke?" The Jonin pleaded with the older lady.  
Tsunade looked straight into Kakashi's lone eye and gave him a firm glare "Listen Hatake, Naruto is a chunnin of the Leaf village and doesn't need a baby sitter, he willingly went on this mission, I don't understand you fear Sasuke doesn't have the strength to kill him" She growled out. It had been one full day since the rescue team had been sent out and now she was beginning to think the worst had happened.  
Kakashi shook his head and stood up straight "Naruto isn't the one I'm worried about: it's Sasuke" Tsunade gave Kakashi a confused glance and the Jonin's eyes glazed over "I fear that if it comes to a showdown Sasuke will push Naruto too far and in the end Naruto won't hesitate in killing him, not if he thinks it will stop him from going to Orochimaru and then couple in the fury he feels when using the Kyuubi's chakra, the odds of Naruto killing Sasuke are very high"  
Tsunade nodded and then rubbed her brow tiredly "I've already sent the Sand Trio out but I don't think they'll be enough especially if what you say is true" Kakashi looked at Tsunade and then with a sigh she looked up at him and gave him a firm nod "Go I want the boy back in one piece"  
Kakashi left the office and didn't even need to ask what boy the Hokage meant. When he reached the gates he summoned Pakkun and the sighed "Find Sasuke's scent" He ordered his summon and then looked up at the rumbling sky and bit his lip, "Please don't lose control" he whispered.

Naruto glared at Sasuke who was standing on wobbly legs just a short way in front of him, the Uchiha had survive the final attack Inferno had blessed him with and now he could feel the god's power fading from his chakra network and being replaced by Kyuubi's chakra.  
"Eh you are special Naruto" Sasuke whispered as the stage one Cursed mark flooded over his body "But remember so am I"  
Naruto looked down at the spot where Sasuke had gone through his chest with his Chidori and noticed with a grin that the wound had completely healed over and now his jacket was sporting a large hole in it for nothing, so with a sigh he shrugged off the jacket and tossed it in the water and gave Sasuke a low growl.  
**"You've really screwed yourself Sasuke" **Naruto growled out making sure that the Uchiha knew how mad he was, although at this stage Naruto really didn't think that the Uchiha was all that sane which was confirmed when he just laughed and gave Naruto a crazed glance.  
"Let me see your power Naruto show me who you are" he said and then launched forward and begun a fast barrage of Tai Jut-su.  
Naruto growled and then begun his spear shot technique which sent the Uchiha flying to the bottom of the lake **"That is how the spear shot is done" **Naruto growled as Sasuke pulled himself up on the water and grinned crazily again.

"You're really good, no wonder my brother liked you, he always was attracted to power, and you...you're like a generator" Sasuke said with a smug grin.  
He didn't know what he kept baiting Naruto he knew that he was fighting a losing battle unless he could unlock the second stage cursed mark. But he just didn't want their fight to end so easily. Naruto froze and clutched his head in pain as all his memories with Itachi came bubbling to the surface.

_Flashback_  
_"Itachi?" The young Uchiha turned and gave Naruto a warm smile and Naruto smiled back although no one could see it while he wore his hood "You're brother do you love him?"  
Itachi paused for a moment before nodding "Yes, but I was raised with the expectations of the clan on my shoulders much like you've been raised with the councils expectations on your own, and it's hard for me to interact with Sasuke because he is so innocent and kind" Naruto nodded and then sat back and looked at the clouds happily.  
"I think that you're awesome, I mean you take really good care of me and you never stop telling me how proud you are of me" Naruto said giving Itachi a happily smile.  
"That's because I am proud of you" Itachi said ruffling Naruto's hair under the hood making the blonde giggle and then give Itachi a hug shocking the Uchiha heir.  
"You're my best friend" Naruto said nuzzling into Itachi's chest.  
"And you're mine" Itachi said warmly.  
Flashback_

Sasuke raced forward and kicked Naruto in the jaw and smirked when he heard the crunch of bone beneath his foot. When Naruto landed a few meters away atop the water still clutching his head but now with Blood dripping from his jaw like drool he quickly walked forward and grabbed Naruto but his orange shirt and slammed his hand into Naruto's face hard.  
"Did you enjoy stealing my older brother" he shouted slamming his hand into Naruto's face and smirked when he heard the creaking of bone underneath his hand. "Did you enjoy stealing his attention from me!"  
Naruto moaned in pain as another memory assaulted his mind, and Sasuke continued to beat him while he couldn't do anything.

_Flashback  
Naruto looked down at the scroll blankly and then back up at Ookami and rat that both nodded and then bit his lip to keep a tear from spilling from his eyes. He wanted a hug, he needed one but he knew that Ookami would be disappointed if he asked for one. He was older now and needed to grow up. But that didn't stop him from wanting a little comfort sometimes.  
"Naruto are you okay" the tiny blonde spun around and gasped when he saw Itachi standing at the doorway his eyes scanning his form for any damage, "I got a message are you alright" he asked hurrying over to him.  
Naruto let one tear fall and then threw himself into Itachi's arms and just stood there hugging his guardian tightly under the eyes of his two ANBU leaders but then he remembered something very important and pulled away from the comforting embrace of his guardian. "Wait! You can't be here today was your day with your little brother" He said pushing on Itachi's chest.  
But the young ANBU refused to move and just knelt down and put his hands on Naruto's shoulders and gave him a rare smile "Naruto calm down, Sasuke realizes my job is important and isn't mad"  
Naruto shook his head "No that's not the point I pulled you away from him once again" he protested weakly.  
Itachi smiled and poked him in the middle of the forehead and then hugged him tight again "Naruto at this moment in my life: You are the most important part of it, I would do anything for you" Itachi said before pulling back and smiling at him once more before standing up "Now what's the problem?"  
Flash Back  
_

Naruto groaned when he felt his nose break, the way things were going he wasn't going to be able to hold back Kyuubi's true demonic instincts for much longer, even now he could feel his brothers anger and fury shifting just below the surface. Sasuke smirked and then put both his hands around Naruto's throat and begun to squeeze.  
"I bet you did nothing that night" Naruto's eyes widened and he truly felt his anger rise "The night my brother killed my family I bet you did nothing"  
Naruto clawed at Sasuke to let go, he could tell his memory was about to be unlocked and really didn't want to relive any of the painful parts of his life. To make things worse he could feel Kyuubi's chakra rising and his brother's control slipping. _'KYU!' _he mentally screamed and all he got back was a pained roar back in return. Then the whiteness overtook him again.

_Flashback  
Naruto sat on a nearby tree branch and shivered when he felt the death and destruction that was filling, the air the stench of the blood thick. He still couldn't believe that of all people to have done this it was him, the one who he trusted the most.  
"Ah so you're here" Naruto looked down and Saw his Guardian standing below him in his full ANBU gear smeared with the blood of his family "I always knew you would be the one to find me first"  
"Why?" he asked in a small voice, here stood the man who he had trusted and adored, covered in the blood of his clan and talking to him like it was nothing.  
Itachi sighed as his Sharingan activated and he appeared behind Naruto and stabbed two kunai in the back of the child's arms making him give a slight yelp of pain " Because I wanted to test my power"  
Naruto whimpered in pain and lifted his shaking hands to grip Itachi's front and then looked up with tear filled eyes "What about me?"  
Itachi smiled and smeared some of the Uchiha blood on the boy's face and then tapped him on the forehead "You my boy are going to be the one reason I return" he said before letting the boy drop and land face first on the ground "Tell Ookami that I will kill him if he doesn't take care of you"  
Naruto whimpered once more as Itachi vanished and he felt his team arrive on the scene.  
Flashback_

Sasuke smirked and was just about to squeeze a little tighter when suddenly Naruto's hand shot forward and clutched his throat in a death grip. The Uchiha stared in shock as a red bubbling aura started to rise and surround his friend, but when he looked deep into Naruto's eyes all he saw were the eyes of a beast.  
Red. That was all he could feel, everything was under a red haze as he felt Kyuubi's anger and hate spread through his veins like magma as his chakra streamed through his at extreme levels. Then with a growl he threw Sasuke into a rock wall and let out a feral roar as the chakra cloak over took his whole body. Sasuke stared in horror as a red aura in the form of some kind of beast surrounded Naruto, as the blonde himself under went some changes: now that the transformation seemed complete Naruto had turned from smiling Genin into a snarling beast. His once crystal blue eyes were a crimson red even redder than his Sharingan, his canines had become elongated and sharper, his hair had turned wild and spikier than normal and his whisker like scars had thickened to the point where they over took the sides of his face.  
**"You really shouldn't have pushed it" **Naruto snarled and let out a huge roar sending a huge chakra wave towards the Uchiha with crossed his arms in front of him for some protection.  
Naruto looked at Sasuke and let out a deep growl before speeding towards him and swiped down and caught the boy on the face sending him flying to the other side of the rock wall.  
Nothing made sense anymore, all he could feel was anger than was burning brighter and brighter at each second and it seemed beating Sasuke up was helping control that anger just a little.  
Sasuke pushed himself out of the rocky hole he had created and stared at Naruto in fear, he didn't know what he had done but his friend was the happy go lucky kid who always played the pipe, this beast he was fighting now wasn't that boy. "What are you" Sasuke whispered as the second stage cursed mark took control of his body.  
Naruto fell to all fours when he saw this and let out a deep growl before the water began to ripple all around him **"Your friend!"  
**Sasuke laughed and two huge wings exploded from his back as he stared at Naruto and stared at each of his hands "You think I need friends, please I have all the power I need right now all thanks to one man and he's name is Orochimaru"  
Naruto shook his head and then began gathering all his energy in his left hand forming a purple spinning ball of Chakra while Sasuke bent forward and summoned a black chidori "This is where it ends Naruto!" Sasuke said as they rushed towards each other.  
**"Rasengan!"  
**"Chidori!" 

Kakashi froze when he heard a faint explosion in the distance, one look at Pakkun confirmed that it was as he feared Naruto and Sasuke were fighting and it had turned ugly. It was at times like this Kakashi couldn't help but reveal his hidden feelings for his team, in just the short time he'd known them he had completely become entwined with them and couldn't imagine any harm coming to them. It was at times like this Kakashi always wondered what it was like for Minato to teach them, did he have the same level of commitment that he did or was his bigger and largest because he had more time with them.  
"Kakashi that wasn't just any explosion" Pakkun grunted as he leapt forward "And to make matters I smell someone else...someone not natural"  
Kakashi mentally groaned but gulped as he thought as his students safety: he could only hope that neither one of them were dead.

Naruto looked at Sasuke who was holding his shattered shoulder while wiping a dribble of blood from his lip. The blonde haired boy was sporting a large hole in his own chest but the demon fox cloak was affecting his senses so much all he could feel was anger and contempt towards the figure standing only a meter away. When the two attacks had collided the demon boy had purposely allowed himself to get struck so that he too could strike his opponent the only difference was that Naruto seemed to be able to take the hit easier. Sasuke trembled as his cursed mark faded away; he had never been as scared as he felt that very moment staring into Naruto's crimson red eyes. But just before Naruto was about to strike again he hesitated for a quick moment before pushing him back with such force he flew into a nearby rock wall.  
**"Get Back!" **Naruto snarled when suddenly he was impaled with a huge vine which went straight through his shoulder.  
Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw a man with bright green hair with a pure black side and a white side, while a huge Venus fly trap sat on his neck, the man was wearing the same cloak as his brother and his fishy friend had been which made Sasuke gulp and slowly stand up.  
Naruto snarled and ripped the vine out of his shoulder and glared at the creature in front of him with fury lit eyes **"What are you!"  
**The plant like ninja cocked his head to the side and his black side grinned maniacally "I'm Zetsu from the Akatsuki" Naruto's anger and panic rose as he stared at the ninja in league with Itachi "I must say I was a little hesitant when I heard you were the vessel but now that I look at you I see that you are the most perfect thing I've ever laid eyes on, watching over you has been a very eventful task"  
Naruto snarled and glared at Zetsu who just smirked and clapped his hands once, "Can't have you escaping" he said and then the blonde roared in pain as thorny veins wrapped around his wrists and ankles like a sick imitation of shackle. **"I'm going to rip you apart!"  
**Zetsu laughed and then glided forward until he was a foot away and then begun to circle the blonde with a fond smile on his face "Yes we've chosen very well we didn't know whether to chose you or the eight tailed jailor, but I know by watching you that he would be weak in comparison to you" the plant man said stroking Naruto's whiskered face.  
Naruto pulled back and roared and Zetsu's eyes widened when he saw Naruto uprooting his vine shackles. Jumping forward the plant made stabbed the demon jailor with a large vine just below his heart making Naruto roar in pain and rip the rest of his shackles up and scratch the plat man right across the face making him jump back and clutch his face as his green blood dribbled down his face.  
"Ha you can rest easy today young Jailor, I'm not coming for you at this moment: you need time but mark my words: you will fall to the Akatsuki, we will come after your loved ones and everyone you're close to" Naruto panted as he tried to stem the blood flow from his wound that didn't seem to start healing at all.  
Then the plant ninja sunk back into the ground disappeared leaving Naruto alone in the watery clearing. With the last strength he had Naruto looked around and swore when he saw Sasuke was gone, and then he gasped as Kyuubi's chakra receded from his body leaving him weaken and shaking, before he could stop himself he fell forward until he fell face first into the ground his blood pooling underneath him.

Kakashi looked up at the sky as the rain begun to pour down and then rushed to the edge of the clearing where he saw a very terrible sight. Lying face down in the rain with his own blood running into the stream underneath him was his blonde student. Pakkun whined when he saw Naruto and followed his master to the rocky floor where they looked at Naruto who was thankfully still breathing.

"He's alive Kakashi" The tiny dog said and the silver haired ninja nodded and bent down and picked his student up.  
"Ka...Kashi...sensei...he's...go...ne" Naruto chocked out and Kakashi's eyes widened when he heard the watery quality the weak voice sounded like.  
Kakashi quickly laid the blonde on the ground and thumped on Naruto's chest and Naruto coughed up a large glob of blood and it was at that moment when the silver Jonin saw the huge blood wound marring Naruto's chest, "Oh my God" Kakashi chocked out and then picked Naruto up and hugged him to his chest.  
But when he felt a weak brushing in his hair he pulled his head from Naruto's chest and looked into Naruto's hazy eyes "Sensei please don't cry"  
Kakashi took a deep breath and then begun rushing to the hospital _'I can't lose you Naruto anyone but you' _

When the silver haired Jonin reached the Leaf village the medic's were already waiting for Naruto and when they saw the amount of blood he had lost they immediately sent him to Tsunade who had a surgery room set up for him even though he was told he could go home and change Kakashi headed straight to the waiting room and begun pacing the length of the small room still in his clothes that were caked in Naruto's ruby blood.

"Sensei?"  
Kakashi's head shot up and he saw Sakura with a stack of files in her arms and his eyes widened when he saw all of them had medical titles on them "Sakura what are you doing with those?"  
Sakura looked down and then at the doors where she knew Naruto's surgery was happening "I asked Lady Tsunade if I could be her apprentice a day ago she accepted almost immediately, this is my study material"  
Kakashi gulped and then sat down and patted the spot next to him, when the pinkette sat down Kakashi couldn't stop the few tears that had leaked out "Sakura do you think I'm a bad teacher"  
The pinkette gave Kakashi a surprise glance and then shook her head "Nah I think that you have your own way of teaching, you don't give us everything we want, you let us make mistakes and learn from them you let us go out on our own and if I really think about it, the way you taught us helped make us better ninja"  
Kakashi hung his head and just sighed "What kind of teacher lets his one of his students become a missing ninja, another one fall close to death and the other leave to find another person to teach her"  
Sakura shook her head and sighed a little "Sensei I think from the moment you first met our team you knew we were going to move on to bigger things and the fact you taught us at all means that you helped to make us the ninja we are today, to be honest I'm honoured to have been your student for the short amount of time I got to spend with you" Kakashi looked at Sakura in shock and then smiled and nodded once.  
Sakura smiled and then got up and gave the operating room a nervous glance and then turned back to her sensei and bit her lip nervously "Sensei when you get any news could you come and tell me?"  
Kakashi nodded and then watched as Sakura walked off and then ran a hand through his hair "You look stressed" Kakashi's head shot up and then stared into the pale green eyes that belonged to Gaara.  
"Gaara of the Sand" The red head nodded and then looked at the emergency room and then sat down quietly "Are you here for Naruto?"  
"Yes, Naruto and I have become quite close over the last few weeks we have been trading letters" Gaara said in a simple voice and Kakashi smiled "He is my best friend"  
Kakashi nodded and then looked at the room and shivered "It's bad" was all he said  
A small smile spread across Gaara's face and he let out a shaky breath "Yes but knowing Naruto he'll pull through"  
Kakashi laughed and then nodded before giving Gaara a smile "Can I see one of his letters if you have one on you?"  
Gaara paused and then reached into his pouch and gave the scarecrow a small piece of paper that looked like it had been folded a few times.

Dear Gaara

How is everything going in Suna I hope you're okay: your siblings as well. Things in the Leaf Village are hectic now that Tsunade has become Hokage. I became Chunnin a few days ago and trust me when I say this: being a Chunnin is hard. Everyone looks to you and wants you to lead them, you don't really get a single moment to yourself but I'm dealing with it okay.

In your last letter you asked me how I deal with sleeping few hours in a day and still keeping sane, my answer is to find something that puts you into a lull almost for me it's my music or my prating I would suggest meditation for you or even just something as simple as drawing or writing could help but I found as a young child that doing these things helped be a lot.

In this letter I'm giving you a small red stained glass vial, I know you probably think it's stupid but I want you to put something in it that makes you feel happy and I want you to seal the vial with your sand to glaze it over and I want you to wear it. I have one in my ninja pouch at all times, inside is a small bit of Kyuubi's chakra which has solidified itself into the shape of a fox.

Remember Gaara life may be hard now that you've accepted your demon and have bonded with it but it does get better and it's even easier when you're surrounded with people who care for you, and I am always with you remember.

Yours  
Naruto Uzumaki

Kakashi looked at Gaara who was smiling faintly and then gave the small piece of paper back to the sand user "These letters are the main reason I'm as open as I am at this moment"  
Kakashi smiled and then nodded and looked at the doors where the light turned off and Tsunade walked out wiping her brow of sweat and then looked at the two ninja sitting deathly still in front of her and then smiled.  
"He made it, with Kyuubi's chakra he should be out in about a day or two" Kakashi let out a relived breath and Gaara's body seemed to relax a lot more.  
"Now Gaara I want you report on my desk in an hour Kakashi: GO HOME!" Tsunade said switching back into her Hokage form.

A Week later Naruto sat on the steps of the Inuzuka compound with Kiba and just stared up at the sky happily: the young Inuzuka had gotten out of the hospital a day earlier and had immediately offered Naruto a place to stay as soon as he'd found him. The whole day had been filled with Kiba telling Naruto about the fear he'd felt when he had been fighting the two twins and how he had resorted to using his most basic instincts to fight, Naruto had waited and listened patiently and held the dog boy when he had broke down and cried and had even let the Inuzuka kiss him in a desperate attempt for some sort of human compassion. Now the two of them were just sitting together and enjoying each other's company, although Naruto couldn't help but notice at how Kiba would shift every few moments.  
"I'm going inside to get a drink want one" Kiba finally said and Naruto sighed and followed the dog boy into the kitchen and put his hand on the fridge next to his head.  
"Kiba, what's wrong" he said in a sad voice.  
The dog boy gulped and turned and gave Naruto a nervous glance "I want you"  
Naruto's eyes widened and Kiba looked down in embarrassment "What?" he said unintelligently.  
Kiba looked back at Naruto and then pulled him in for a bruising kiss and pushed his body up against Naruto so that the blonde could feel his arousal on his thigh "I want you" he panted as he pulled back.  
Naruto growled in lust and pulled Kiba tight against him and brought him in for another more passionate kiss and nipped at the dog boy's lip making him gasp and allowed him to force his tongue into Kiba's mouth. The blonde had been holding himself back for so long for just taking the Inuzuka heir, he had liked the dog user for a very long time and now that the dog boy had made it clear that he too felt the same way he couldn't help but loose a little bit of his self control. "I want you too" He growled in Kiba's ear making the dog boy shiver a little.  
"My room" Kiba said in a breathless voice and then  
Naruto nodded and then pulled the Inuzuka up to his room, when he pulled him inside he slammed the boy against the door and kissed him passionately making Kiba moan against him mouth. In frenzy Naruto ripped Kiba's jacket off and the dog boy pushed his sleeveless jacket off before ripping his shirt off leaving them both shirtless. Naruto knew where this was heading, he'd done it before not that he could remember most of it but he knew that it was going to hurt Kiba, it would be painful for him so when he and Kiba were stripped down to their boxers Naruto laid Kiba on the bed and then placed two of his fingers against the dog boy's mouth.  
"Suck" he said in a kind and warm voice.  
Kiba did as he asked and when he was sure they were lubricated enough Naruto placed one of the fingers at Kiba's entrance and pushed in. Naruto watched as Kiba winced a little and then pushed his second finger in and begun to move them in an out so that he could stretch Kiba enough so that it would be more comfortable for him when he finally did enter him.  
"Naruto" Kiba whined and pulled the blonde down for a searing kiss.  
The blonde groaned and slipped his fingers out of the dog boy and then coated his length in spit so that it was slick and then just as he begun to kiss him Naruto gave Kiba a very strong kiss to help distract the dog boy from the pain. Once he was fully inside the brunette Naruto used all of his focus not to start thrusting straight away and waited so that Kiba could get adjusted. When the dog boy wiggled his hips a little Naruto took that as an invitation to start moving and begun moving in and out at a slow pace making the dog boy whine and grip his upper arms tightly.  
"Please Naruto Faster!" Naruto grunted at Kiba's pleading and begun moving faster and harder until Kiba let out a loud scream of pleasure and Naruto knew that he had hit Kiba's sweet spot, he remembered when Kotsue had hit his own sweet spot and could recall the hot pleasure he had felt when the older boy had hit it so with a grunt he begun aiming for that spot everytime. Kiba couldn't hold back his screams or his yells and scratched down Naruto's back leaving red angry marks, he had never felt pleasure like this and didn't want it to end but could tell that his end was coming. Naruto grunted and thrusted deeply and Kiba screamed the loudest as he came, when he heard his lovers passionate cry Naruto shivered as he followed Kiba over and then held himself up on his elbows as he stared down at his lover.  
"Naruto...I love you" Kiba said before he fell asleep.  
The blonde looked at Kiba in shocked and then rolled off of him and pulled him tightly into his arms and buried his face in Kiba's neck "and I love you"

Jiraiya stared at Naruto with a sad frown on his face and then nodded twice, the blonde had gotten out of the hospital almost a month ago and this was the first time the toad sage and his pupil were meeting face to face since the whole Tsunade retrieval mission.  
"You've got to be kidding me" Naruto whispered as he stared at the ground  
Jiraiya shook his head and then put his hand on Naruto's shoulder "I'm sorry Naruto but I'm not lying, I fear that the Akatsuki will start watching you and hunting down the ones your closest too"  
Naruto gripped his head and then looked up in fear "Kiba"  
Jiraiya nodded and then grimace "Yes that means you're pretty little boyfriend too"  
Naruto bit his lip and then look around and then ran his hands through his hair "What are we going to do"  
"I'm going to take you away from here" Naruto looked at Jiraiya in shock "I need to train you without any interruptions until I'm sure you can properly defend yourself against them"  
Naruto shook his head and then sighed "How long will we be gone"  
Jiraiya shrugged and then looked at Naruto seriously "Hard to say two years minimum" Naruto's eyes widened and Jiraiya put a hand on his shoulder "we leave tomorrow morning I'd say your goodbyes while you still can"

Naruto sat alone on a stone bench as he ran through his thoughts, everything had been going so well for a month and then the Pervy sage had come and ruined everything with one discussion. He had a armful of missions to chose from whenever he wanted, a loving boyfriend who happened to have excellent stamina in bed, a great group of friends who he loved and all of that was threatened by a group of missing ninja who wanted him for their own sick desires.  
"Kyu what am I going to do?"  
The large demon made a soft cooing sound and sent out a calming aura to the young boy **"KIT I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT TO DO I CAN ONLY ADVISE YOU TO TELL KIBA VERY SOON"  
**Naruto moaned and put his face into his hands "I can't get him to wait for me it's too cruel"  
**"MAYBE YOU SHOULD TAKE A PAGE OUT OF THE DRAGON SAGE'S BOOK LITTLE ONE" **Naruto froze and then let out a shaky breath and nodded once before he leant back and stared at the sky and just watched the clouds fly by.  
"Hey isn't that my thing?"  
Naruto grinned and turned his head and stared at Shikamaru who was standing a meter away from him with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Naruto had visited his fellow chunnin in the hospital when he had been released for his large wound in his ribs. The shadow user had been one of the better cases stemming from the retrieval mission the worse cases had been Kiba and Chouji both boys had been beyond charka exhaustion and were dying from internal bleeding and blood loss.  
"Maybe but I thought I might give it a try" Naruto said cheekily as he grinned happily.  
Shikamaru shook his head and sat down next to Naruto and stared up at the clouds "That mission was a lot to handle"  
Naruto sighed and nodded "Yeah for your first leadership role it would have been a little overwhelming for you"  
Shikamaru laughed and nudged Naruto in the shoulder "Yeah but I had you there so it was okay, you kept me in line"  
Naruto let out a shaky breath and held back the tears that were threatening to spill over "Shika promise me something" the cloud gazer stared at Naruto in confusion and gave him a questioning glance "Promise me you'll take care of everyone"  
Shikamaru looked up in alarm "Wait where are you going?"  
Naruto laughed and wiped his eyes "the Pervy Sage is taking me on a training mission and he says I won't be back for a few years"  
Shikamaru gave Naruto a sad smile and turned back to the clouds above him and then nodded "I promise Naruto, I swear that when you come back everyone will be here waiting for you"  
Naruto hugged Shikamaru tightly "Thank you" he said before using all of his speed and rushing towards the Inuzuka compound where he knew Kiba would be seeing as Akamaru had been released from the vets only a few days earlier.

Kiba laughed as Akamaru barked and rolled around happily, he was so glad to have his buddy back, everything was going great, his mom was happy and for some reason had started dating Zabuza who had moved in and was acting like the father he had never had, Naruto was being the caring boyfriend and he had leave until he was ready to take missions again. A soft knocking brought the dog boy's attention up to the door where Naruto was standing and giving him an almost sad smile.  
"Hey" he said happily as he jumped over and kissed the blonde enthusiastically "How are you?"  
Naruto gave Kiba a weak smile and then looked down "I'm fine do you mind if we go for a walk"  
Kiba shook his head and then waved his buddy goodbye before following Naruto to the lake where they had spent the night of the Hokage's wake. When Naruto reached the crystal water he let go of Kiba's hand and turned to face him and gave him a crushed look. "What would you say if I told you I had to leave for a few years"  
Kiba's smile fell from his face and he felt his throat close up "What?"  
Naruto closed his eyes and took a shaky breath "answer the question"  
"I would tell you that I would wait for you because I love you" Kiba said in a strong voice. Naruto kept his eyes closed and pushed back his tears and shook his head and Kiba gulped "Naruto what is all of this about you're scarring me"  
The blonde opened his eyes and smiled sadly "Pervy Sage is taking me away for a few years because the Akatsuki is trying to kill me and all the people I hold close"  
Kiba took in a shaky breath and then looked out at the water and shrugged "Hey it's okay I can wait for you to get back"  
Naruto shook his head and looked into Kiba's eyes "I don't want you to wait for me" Naruto said and he swore he saw Kiba's heart break as he stared into his chocolate depths.  
"What?" The dog boy choked out as his tears spilled over.  
Naruto looked down and then let out a shaky breath before looking deep into Kiba's eyes and strengthened his resolve "I don't want you to wait for me because I'm not going to wait for you" Kiba took a horrified step back and Naruto continued on "If the Akatsuki ever find out about you then they would kill you"  
Kiba took a few steps forward and slapped Naruto right across the face and glared at him tearfully "So you leave me and break my heart"  
Naruto's head had snapped to the side with the force of Kiba's slap moved to face Kiba again with tearful eyes "I'm leaving you to Protect you" Kiba just shook his head and ran off.  
Naruto took in a deep breath and then started walking through the forests and then froze when he saw Shino starring at a nearby beetle and then smiled sadly. _"Maybe Kiba can heal"  
_"Shino"  
The bug boy looked up and gave Naruto a questioning glance although no one could really tell seeing as he wore his stupid sun glasses "Yes Naruto"  
"Can you do me a favour while I'm gone" Shino nodded and Naruto smiled a little before glancing back towards the Inuzuka compound "Take care of Kiba for me"  
Shino stood frozen for a second before nodding slowly "Of course Naruto"  
Naruto smiled and then began his trek towards the temple _"I think I should pray"  
_


	21. Creation of a Legend

**Epilogue-The Creation of a Legend**

Naruto looked around his tiny apartment once more before taking in a deep breath and shouldering his pack and locking his door for the last time in what would be years. Today he left on his training trip with the Pervy sage. Yesterday he had gone through some of the most heartbreaking experiences; he had said goodbye to Kiba and the rest of the rookie nine as well as Lee's group. After he had done that he had bid his farewell to Rat and the ANBU offices and then he had said goodbye to Grandma Tsunade. He hadn't said goodbye to Kakashi or Zabuza because he knew he wouldn't be able to look either Jonin in the face and say goodbye without getting emotional. When he reached the main street he took in a deep breath of the fresh morning air, the toad sage had set the leaving time for just after dawn so that they wouldn't draw any attention to themselves but he still couldn't help but feel as if he was still drawing attention to himself even though no one could see him. But just as he started towards the gates of the village a familiar voice reached his ears.  
"OI YOU DAMN BRAT WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE!"  
Naruto smirked and turned around and saw Kakashi with his fingers in his ears starring irritably at Zabuza who had a smug smile on his face. Taking a deep breath Naruto embrace what he knew would be his last fight with the mist ninja whole heartedly.  
"DON'T SHOUT YOU DAMN BASTARD PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP YOU INCONSIDERATE IDIOT!" He shouted back and the smiled when Zabuza rushed forward and grabbed him in a tight bear hug.  
"I gonna miss this you damn brat" the ex-mist swordsmen said as he hugged the genin who brought him to the leaf village tightly against him.  
Naruto nodded "Yeah sure you will you damn Bastard" he whispered and then pulled away and gave Kakashi a bright grin. "How does it feel to see me leaving"  
The silver haired ninja bent down and hugged Naruto tightly and buried a hand in Naruto's hair "You have no idea how hard this is" he whispered and he held Naruto close to him "I've watched over you for so long and now...I won't be"  
Naruto smiled warmly and then wrapped his own arms around his old sensei "I will always be with you" he said and then looked up when he heard a loud whistle.  
Jiraiya grinned down at him and then waved "Oi kid the sand trio will be travelling with us to the sand boarder so hurry up they're waiting for us" the toad sage called out.  
Naruto smiled and quickly summoned Gamakichi who happily jumped onto his head, then turning to face his two senses he waved and jumped up next to the toad sage and over the roof tops until he reached the gates where Gaara and his siblings were waiting patiently. Naruto had been overjoyed when he heard that the sand siblings had been allowed to stay in the village for the last month as it had given him a month to help Gaara deal with all his new found emotions that Shukaku had opened to him. The meditation times had gone really well for the sand demon container while Naruto had retreated back to his music to help calm him. Over the month it had seemed like he and the red head become closer than any one could imagine and it seemed that everyone had begun to realize that the bond between sand and leaf wasn't just on paper it was in the two ninja who would walk the streets together.  
"GAARA!" Naruto yelled as he jumped on the red head and hugged him tightly while Gamakichi laughed loudly at his friend's antics.  
Gaara's ears started to ring but he tensibly hugged his friend back and then pulled away when the touching got to be too much for him, but when he saw the tiny orange frog perched on Naruto's mop of blonde hair his face blurred into one of confusion. "Who and what is that?"  
Temari started to laugh and gave Naruto a warm look "Gaara has never been told about summons before they were banned from him"  
Naruto nodded and then took Gamakichi from his head and presented the tiny amphibian to the startled red head "This is Gamakichi he's one of my best friends and also happens to be one of my summons"  
Garra peered at the toad curiously as it waved happily "Hey what's up" the red head's eyes went wide and then looked at his sister who just giggled and nodded "What never seen a talking toad before?"  
Naruto laughed and put the toad back on his head and then smiled at Gaara happily "If I can I'll send you a summoning contract just for you while I'm away" Gaara's eyes watered a little and he lowered his head and nodded happily.  
Jiraiya cleared his throat and clapped happily "Well if this little happy love fest is over can we get going?" Naruto rolled his eyes and then grinned and shrugged when Kankuro gave him a confused glance.  
As they left the leaf village no one noticed the two Jonin standing on the top of the Hokage tower glancing down at the departing group.  
"That kid'll be a legend" Zabuza said in a proud voice  
Kakashi chuckled and shook his head "Nah, he just found himself today is the birth of the legend" he said giving the swordsmen a cocky smile.  
"You know what...you're right" Zabuza said and then smiled down at the small figures in the distance.

Naruto stared at Gaara and gave him a weak smile as he looked at the fork in the road. This was where the two parties would part as one path lead towards the Earth country and the other to the wind country. The two demon containers stared at each other and then before anyone could blink Naruto had Gaara in a tight hug.  
"I'll write when I can" Gaara nodded and then stepped out of the hug and gave Naruto a small but bright smile.  
"I'm going to do better" Naruto nodded and Jiraiya watched on proudly "I may fall and stumble sometimes but I have people" Gaara said looking behind him at his smiling siblings "I have people who love me and will be there to pick me up as I strive to become the next Kazekage"  
Naruto smiled and then looked back at Jiraiya who crossed his arms and nodded once "I may not have such an ambitious dream in my mind but I'm going to make sure I get stronger so that I can protect everyone of my precious people" he said and then turned around and started off towards his new sensei "and if that means becoming the next Hokage...well who knows maybe the title has my name on it"  
Gaara smiled as Naruto, Jiraiya and Gamakichi walked off and then turned around with his siblings and started off towards his sandy home.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto and who was talking and laughing with Gamakichi happily and then looked up at the clouds and smiled fondly.  
_"Are you watching Minato? This boy is going to change the world; blessed by the gods, cursed by a demon this kid will change the way people view the world. Watch closely kid, I'm gonna take this boy and turn him into a legend just you watch, Maybe one day I'll even tell him about you...one day" _

**That's It, Finished  
Now sequel for or against-if so what should Gaara's summoning animal beast be. Hope you liked it you've been great readers No FLAMMING! **


End file.
